


Moon River

by Spacebinicorn



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Happy Ending, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M, Marriage, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Walk Into A Bar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:20:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25063036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spacebinicorn/pseuds/Spacebinicorn
Summary: Riku Decker is a waiter at Moon River Bar and Grill. People are having a hard time accepting the existence of vampires, even fewer are able to accept them into society, including Riku. One day, a vampire walks into a bar and changes his life forever.
Relationships: Aqua/Cinderella (Kingdom Hearts), Axel/Saïx (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas/Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Sora/Yozora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 70





	1. Moon River

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I wrote this and I wanted to share it. Let me know what you think and thanks for stopping by!

-Moon River-

(Riku) 

“Order up!” The cook, Axel, yelled. 

Riku went up to the window and picked up the order for table ten. It was a simple order of hamburger and fries, and a Salisbury steak with carrots and mashed potatoes. Before he could pick up the order Axel stopped him. “Watch out baby, them rednecks have been downing a lot of beer, they tend to get a little handsy.”

Riku raised his eyebrow with a curled smile. “I don’t think I’m their type.”

“Hot is everybody’s type.” Axel smiled while he chopped up some lettuce, dancing to some old funk music, he claimed it made his food taste better. The usual suspects were either Prince or Stevie Wonder with the occasional Kool and the Gang.

Riku laughed.“Whatever, you got orders piling up.” he flicked one of the tickets before leaving to tend his tables. 

Moon River Bar and Grill was busy tonight, which hopefully meant he was gonna make serious tips. It was loud and filled to the brim with drunk rednecks dancing and hooting along to the newest country song. It was him and Axel’s little sister, Xion, waiting the tables. Tifa was running the bar, pouring the drinks for the customers. As he passed by the raven haired waitress she gave him a warm smile and a pat on the back, she was his closest friend. 

Table ten had three men several beers into their night, laughing and talking sports. The waiter placed down their food and passed it to the right individual. 

“Alright, do ya’ll need anything else?” Riku smiled at him. He caught a whiff of the men and did his best to keep his composure. They absolutely reeked of beer and piss.

The man to the right looked up to him, and had a glint in his eyes, that the waiter didn’t appreciate. “ Yeah, I want the girl serving me. I want something I can look at.” This man was at least thirty five and Xion was only seventeen, he made a mental note to keep this man away from her. “I’m sorry, she’s busy with her other tables, is there anything else you need?”

The man leaned back into his seat disappointed and muttered whatever as he took another swig of his drink. Riku snuck a glare before leaving to help his other tables. He noticed everyone was surrounding the bar’s large, tube tv right above the bar counter.

“I wonder what’s going on now?” He spoke quietly to himself. 

The news was on. A woman was reporting on three new deaths that happened in the next town over. 

“Those damn fanged fucks drained all the blood out of them.” one of the patrons of the bar growled. “They should be hunted down and destroyed.” Riku full heartedly agreed. Ever since the vampires came out of the dark and made themselves known, people have been on high alert and terrified. They say they want to integrate into society, but monsters like them, they have no right to be ever thought of as people. They were predators. 

He looked over to Xion, she was looking at the screen and had a look of melancholy. One of her friends from highschool got taken by one of them monsters. She was probably thinking about him. Riku pulled her into a side hug and rubbed her back to comfort her. She gave him a grateful look. She was pro-vampire, thinking they could change and be good- she thought they were still people. Riku didn’t have the heart to debate her on that subject. 

“Do you think it was him?” she asked him.

“Nah, Roxas wouldn’t ever do that.” he answered.

“I don’t think he would either.” She looked at the waiter. “Do you think I’ll see him again?”

“I don’t know, Xi, if you do, I just hope he doesn’t hurt ya.”

She leaned into him. “I’ll be alright, you and Axel are always looking out for me. You’re the strongest people I know.”

“That’s pretty bad, Xi.” Riku grinned and gave her a squeeze. She laid her head on his arm.

The news ruffled the feathers of the patrons pretty well, causing a huge commotion full of small town gossip. More beer was ordered, he helped Tifa hand out drinks. As he reached for a bottle of Corona he spotted the untouched cases of Blood13. He felt his face scrunch up in disgust. Blood13 was synthetic blood for the vampires; they hit the shelves quickly after the vampires came out of hiding. He hoped they never sold a damn one. 

“Honestly, we should just throw that shit out.” he spat.

Tifa didn’t look away from pouring her whiskey on the rocks but gave Riku a nod. “We don’t need any of those nasty things in our town anyway.”

He caught Xion furrowing her brows. Doing her best not to speak her mind, she didn’t want anyone to jump on her. He mentally cursed himself. He was ready for this shift to be over already. He had an early shift at his other job at the retirement home in the morning. 

A fight broke out, the epicenter of it was a booth by the window. Beau finally found out their wife was cheating on him. Again. A chair got thrown at the wall and the front leg cracked. Riku felt his brow twitch and his lips curl into a frown. He had to intercept it and end it. He threw down his cleaning rag. 

“Alright, if ya’ll are gonna fight, you're taking it outside! Beau, you're gonna pay for that chair!” Riku grabbed him by the scruff of his jacket and started to drag him outside.

“Get yer gawddamyn hands off me!” He flung his arms around drunkenly- Riku just stared at him back, unimpressed.

He brought the drunk to the door. “Goodnight, Beau.” The man staggered outside and waved goodbye. He was getting too old for this shit, he should’ve stayed in college.

Tifa pulled him to the side to speak to him. “Dude, you're getting sloppy. You overserved Beau. Are you okay or are you just being greedy?” she smirked at the end of her sentence playfully. There was concern in her voice though. Riku usually didn’t overseve.

“Sorry Tifa, guess I’m not on the ball tonight.” he chuckled lightly. 

“It’s okay, just next time leave the drunken fools to me. What good am I as a bouncer if you aren’t letting me take out the trash?” She winked before going back behind the bar. 

As the night dragged on, the customers slowly left and they could finally close. Tifa was counting the register and checking stock,Axel was cleaning up the kitchen for the night while singing offkey to another old funk song, and he and Xion were rolling silverware. Riku was doing his best to stifle his yawns as closing prep dragged on, his body felt so heavy and he would jerk himself awake when his head lulled a little too far back. They finally put chairs on the tables marking the closing prep finally over. Tifa called it for the night and everyone started packing their possessions and leaving the bar for the night. Riku couldn’t wait to go to bed. 

“Riku, do you wanna ride home? It would be no problem for us.” Xion asked as her brother got their stuff. She knew he was too tired to drive home.

“Nah, you guys go on ahead; I'm gonna wait for Tifa.” Riku replied while he picked up his lunch bag. 

Axel ushered his sister towards the door and walked up to Riku and put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a playful shove. “You ain’t gonna get much tips if you're looking rough, boo. Don't work too hard.”

Riku grinned, he was exhausted. “I’ll keep that in mind.” As the back door closed, he pulled out his keys. He actually really wanted a ride home, but he didn’t want to bother them. Axel was already busy dealing with raising his sister alone. Xion was busy trying to get scholarships for college; she was way too smart to be stuck in this town like he was. Riku walked out the employee entrance and waited for Tifa to come out. Tifa was tough as hell, but he didn’t want to leave her out here alone at night. She was a beautiful woman who had the attention of a lot of men and several women. She came to the door and locked it from the outside. “Thanks for waiting for me, I appreciate it.” She let out a loud yawn and stretched her arms. “You drive home safely tonight.”

“You too, Tifa.” He walked her to her midsize SUV. before she got in her car she turned to him. “When you go home you make sure you get some sleep, okay?” She made a gesture with her fingers telling him she had her eyes on him. He gave her a half assed salute. "Yes ma'am!" She chuckled and was shortly on her way home. 

Riku went to his old truck he got for cheap from the bar owner. It’s body was actually made of metal instead of that plastic polymer that modern cars and trucks could be mostly made of. It was an aged and weathered red with some light rusting around the undercarriage. He lived about ten miles away in the outskirts of Twilight Town out in the wooded area that started to become the mountains and unkempt forest that many people would camp and hike at. There was a waterfall and river that ran through his rented property about twenty acres away from the house. But before the woods started there was a clearing that maybe had a tree or two. Riku had to keep his eyes peeled here for deer and other woodland creatures. There was an abandoned house deeper in the woods by the base of a mountain the bar owner used to own, but he said it was too much trouble to repair, no electricity, no plumbing etc; not to mention no one wanted to rent it because it was hard to get to in general without an ATV.

His home was a small ranch style brick house nestled in some trees. He left his front porch light on. Riku felt a smile curl on his lips. He had someone waiting at home for him. When he opened his heavy wooden door there was a wagging tail smacking happily against his coffee table making a loud thunking noise.

“Hey pretty girl!” He cooed. His wolfdog, Kida wiggled her whole body happily seeing her master and jumped on him to lick his face. Riku was a tall man, about six foot four. But Kida was mostly wolf so she could lick his cheek with little effort. He rubbed her ears and kissed the top of her snout. He let her out the front door to go to the bathroom. She ran around the front yard happily and did her business, her white coat shimmered in the moonlight. He was glad he lived out here, she was safe from neighbors shooting her thinking she was a full wolf and she was fiercely protective and actually took on a bear and won. The bear tried to attack him because he accidentally got too close to her cubs. He saw her stop dead in her tracks and listened to the woods, her ears flicked zoning in on a certain sound. Her tail stopped wagging and she was looking to attack. Riku narrowed his eyes to try to pierce through the darkness, trying to see what caught Kida’s attention. He decided it was probably a deer and he didn’t want to chase after the big dog. 

“Kida, come one girl.” He commanded. She didn’t move. “Kida!” That caught her attention. “Come along, it’s time for bed.” she looked over to the woods once more and whined before coming to the porch. She nudged Riku into the house and nipped at his fingers to get moving. Whatever was out there, he didn’t like it. After he locked all the doors once again he grabbed his shotgun to put by his bed, just in case. He shedded his uniform. Which was a simple white tee with the bar’s name on it and his black jeans and his black Nike shoes. Once he was under the covers, Kida jumped onto bed and rested her big head on his chest. He plugged his phone into its charger and petted his girl and played something from youtube and promptly fell asleep. Kida was eyeing the door still as he fell into unconsciousness. 

He woke up early that morning, he checked his phone and he realized he was gonna run late for his other job if he didn’t get his ass up now. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his back. He made himself some coffee and fried up an egg in the kitchen, he was wondering if the night shift took care of the patients last night. Kida padded loyally behind him, tail wagging as usual. He let her out the front door once again and watched her run around in the thick, green grass as he waited for his coffee to brew.

He sniffed himself and cringed. He needed a shower, he smelled like beer and sweat. He showered and brushed his teeth; put his hair up in a short ponytail, his bangs and pieces of his hair slipped through and couldn’t be contained by the hair tie. He shaved his face, when he was finished his fingers slipped down his jawline, checking for stubble. He donned his scrubs and fed his girl. She hastily ate and headed towards the door once again. The only thing he burdened Axel with was taking care of Kida as he worked his other job. He paid him of course, but Axel loved Kida as much as Riku did, and she was just as fiercely loyal and protective of the red head and his sister. He headed towards the door, and heard Kida barking happily. She was waiting by the truck, ready to see more of her favorite people. He opened his truck door and she jumped in, he hopped in as well and headed down his long gravel driveway. He had the windows rolled down since his air conditioner didn’t work, Kida stuck out her head and took in all the smells.

Axel lived by his other job in a nice house that was left by his deceased parents. He made sure his home looked nice, it was his parents pride and joy. Axel’s parents came to this country with nothing and worked their asses off to make a comfortable life for Axel and his little sister. He saw Xion working in the front garden, since it was a Saturday she didn’t have school. Xion had a green thumb, just like her mom. The garden her mother started was vibrant, colorful and lively. The two story home was white and had a porch wrapped around it and surrounding the porch was the garden and surrounding the garden was an elegant iron fence. He opened the truck door and Kida bolted to the iron fence entrance. Xion let her in and attacked her with kisses and cuddles. He smiled and waved a goodbye and headed out once again. Both Axel and Xion had keys to his house and would drop her off on their way to work. He would be off from his dayjob on Tuesday as well as his job at his bar. A complete day off, he was beyond euphoric at the thought of having a full day off.

The home that Riku worked for was pretty high class. Arendelle Acres was where the upper class folk would drop off their elderly family members they were too busy to take care of. As much as he loved working at the bar, he loved helping out his residents, there was one in particular he enjoyed talking to- Mrs. Grimes. She was ninety but she still had her mind, she was quick and witty. She made him laugh and he thought of her as his grandma. He knocked on her door and walked in with her breakfast.

“Morning Mrs. Grimes! I got your breakfast.” Riku smiled.

She was in bed, her handmade quilt keeping her warm, but her sweet smile lit up the room. “Goodmorning Riku, how are you sweetheart?” 

“I swear, you're getting handsomer each day.” she giggled.

He placed her breakfast on her nightstand with a bashful grin on his face. “And you’re getting evermore radiant each day.”

She laughed. “Boy, you are too good to me.” Her blue eyes that almost look violet scrutinized his face. “Have you been getting enough sleep, sweetheart? My handbags ain’t got nothing on the bags under your eyes.”

He rubbed them. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” 

Mrs. Grimes took a bite of her eggs. “You keep that shit up, you’ll be dead before me!”

Riku laughed. “You might be right.” 

“Oh, I made you something!” she placed her fork down and reached on the other side of the bed. She pulled out a folded quilt. “ It’s always good to have an extra blanket.”

Riku was touched. He gently took it from her frail hands and hugged it to his chest, it was soft and warm. “Thank you, Mrs. Grimes, it really means a lot; I’ll treasure it forever.”

Mrs. Grimes smiled warmly with her hand on her heart. “You’re welcome. I think of you as one of my own. I want you to have a little piece of me.”

He placed the quilt gently on her couch. He noticed a new picture on her nightstand, it was an old sepia photo of a little girl and a young man.He held the girl in his arm, resting her on his hip. “Mrs. Grimes, who’s in your new picture? Old family?”

She looked over and picked up the framed picture gently. She pointed to the young man. “This is my daddy; handsome isn’t he?” The young man barely looked twenty. He had wild spiky hair, soft freckles, tanned skin, and a warm smile. He was Riku’s type. The little girl, who he assumed was Mrs. Grimes, was an adorable little critter with a cute bob, she had her daddy’s smile.

“He is.” Riku smiled at Mrs. Grimes. She beamed. 

“My daddy is one of the sweetest, most loving men I’ve ever met. It was only him and I. My momma died when I was born. Life was hard for us, he did everything he could to provide for us and give me the love and attention I needed….My daddy was so kind and sweet he attracted… evil things…” She had a distant look in her eyes. Riku had a sinking feeling in his gut. A tear fell from her cheek, but she wiped it away quickly. “I’m sorry, darling.” She chuckled. “I couldn’t ask for a better father.”

Riku placed a hand on her shoulder, comforting her, showing her he was here with her. She placed her wrinkled hand on top of his and gave it a light squeeze.

Riku felt a deep resentment grow inside him. He bet her dad got unwillingly mixed in with vampires… just like Roxas. He hated vampires, they ruined everyone's lives. 

Riku picked up the remote and turned on the TV. M*A*S*H was probably on, that would help both of them keep their minds off unpleasant memories. 

He started picking up and organizing her room. For someone who was so well taken care of, he never saw visitors. Riku made it a point to talk to her like she was his family when he first noticed she didn't get visitors and now, she had become his family. What made him most upset was she had pictures of her family all over the place. She had children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren; where were they? 

It was almost like she could read his mind."They have such busy lives, they need time to rest. They don't need to bother with an old heifer like me." She smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes. "Besides, I got you to take care of me." 

Riku smiled sadly. 

They didn’t deserve her.

-Moon River-

(Sora) 

“Hey, you can’t leave me here!” his new progeny squaked. “This shit burns!”

“Well, the last time I left you here without being bound in silver, you drained three people.” Sora popped his neck. “You know, even for a baby vamp, your appetite is pretty vivacious.”

The blonde boy glared at him, he bared his fangs and snarled. “I hate your fucking guts!” 

Sora rolled his eyes. He was starting to regret taking him in, he didn’t even make him. He pinched his nose and sighed. “Behave, I’ll be back before three. I’m gonna see my daughter.” Sora smirked. “I’ll even get you some Blood13.”

Roxas gagged. “That synthetic stuff tastes like dog shit!” 

“That’s not my problem, kid.” Sora taunted before leaving the old, abandoned house.

The night was warm, the stars and moon kept him company as he headed towards the retirement home. He knew his time with her was dwindling by the day, her cancer was spreading and she decided she didn’t want the chemo. It was a cruel fate as a parent, to watch your child dying. If his heart could beat, it would be aching. 

When he made it to the retirement home he snuck into the third story window. The night shift never checked in on their patients.

“Daddy, you know you ain’t gotta sneak through my window like you're some type of criminal.” his daughter must have been waiting on him.

“I think it makes me look cooler that way.” He approached her and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “How are you doing Kairi-cat?” 

“I’m well, Riku makes sure I’m taken care of.” She assured him. She cupped her hand around her mouth and whispered. “You’re his type.” 

Sora laughed. “ Ah, he told you, huh?”

She shrugged. “Not exactly.” 

“It’s rude to read people's minds, child.” He picked up the framed picture of him and his daughter and wiggled his brow at his girl. “Even if they got good tastes.”

“Well, I don’t really want to listen to people, and you know it.” She scrunched her face. “People are gross. There’s a janitor here that wants to suck my caretaker's toes!”

“Yeesh.” he felt his face scrunch up.

“If you eat anyone here, I wouldn’t suggest him. Probably gamey.” She giggled. “How’s Roxas doing?” 

“That kid is beyond ornery... I never wanted to kick a teenager in the teeth so much in my life! He’s already killed three people! If I was his actual maker, I would be able to order him not to drain people and he would have to listen to my command.” Sora paced by her bed, frustrated.

“Having a hard time being a father again?” she raised her brow.

“I’m still your father.” Sora pouted. She placed her warm hand on his cold ones.

“You are. You may not have made him, but that baby vampire needs someone to guide him.” she gave his hands a squeeze. “Speaking of looking out for someone, could you look after my Riku? That poor boy is running himself ragged! He won’t let anyone take care of him.” 

“You want ME to check in on him? I’m pretty sure you have told me many times that boy isn’t fond of my kind.” Sora grinned.

“Most humans aren’t daddy. But will you do it for me- please?” Sora sighed and placed his hand on hers. “Of course honey. I’ll keep an eye on him.” 

“Maybe you can get a date out of it?” She grinned playfully.

He was making his way out the window and turned to her. “You know damn well I don’t date.”

“You need to! You haven't dated anyone since mamma!” she raised her brow.

“You don’t know that!” He blushed. 

“It’s painfully obvious! Go find someone nice you old coot!” 

He jumped out of her window and floated. “Goodbye Kairi-cat, I’ve gotta check in on your human,” he furrowed his brow and muttered. “And feed a bratty baby vamp before daybreak.”

“I love you, daddy.” She giggled.  
“Love ya, baby.” He disappeared into the night, already heading to one of the few places that served Blood13 and he could keep and eye on his daughter’s friend: Moon River Bar and Grill. 

-Moon River-

The bar was loud, and it reeked of piss and body odor. He was greeted by a black haired hostess. “Hi, welcome to Moon River Bar and Grill, my name is Xion, how many are in your party!” she chirped happily at him. 

He smiled at her charmingly, “Just me. I would like to sit at a booth, please.” 

He scanned around looking for Kairi's human. Kairi said he had silver hair, he expected a silver fox in his forties; she said he was young. She walked him to a booth at the right end of the bar, she gave him a menu. She had a soft, shy smile on her face. “Your waiter will be here in a second!” 

“Thank you, Xion.” 

He flipped through the sticky menu looking at all the food he would never eat. 

“Hi, My name is Riku, how can I help you?” Riku’s voice sounded young- young, young. Sora lifted his head and what greeted him was a young man who looked to be in his mid twenties. He was tall and broad. His silver hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, strands of hair tickled his neck. Pretty aquamarine eyes. Chiseled chin, nice lips, and a straight nose. He looked like he should be modeling somewhere if he didn't have such dark circles under his pretty eyes. He looked exhausted.

“ Hi, could I have a Blood13 please? B positive?” Sora smiled shyly while he scratched the back of his head.

Riku’s eyes narrowed and his eyes were filled with fire. “We’re fresh out. I guess you need to leave.” he spat out venom with every word.

Looks like he overstayed his welcome. 

He was about to get up but was stopped by the hostess. “Wait! Please stay! I am so sorry for my friend here, he’s usually never this RUDE!” she elbowed Riku in the gut. “I’ll get you some Blood13 - any preferences?” 

“B positive please.” He made sure to look at the waiter with a victorious smirk, Riku’s eyes bore holes in his head.

After he received his substitute blood he noticed everyone was staring at him. He didn’t expect anything less. The hostess came back and leaned into his space. “Hey, are you okay? The people of this town aren’t used to people who are… different.”  
“I’m fine, they don’t bother me.” He took another gamey swig of the blood. “ Thanks for looking out for me though.” The hostess smiled kindly at him before going back to serve other patrons. Riku was still staring daggers at him from the bar.

As the night passed he watched Riku work and the customers slowly stopped staring at him. He would catch whifs of Riku and he had to keep retracting his fangs. He smelled so good. He hadn’t wanted to suck someone’s blood this bad since he was a baby vampire.

Sora waited outside for the rest of the night, he was afraid he was going do something impulsive and stupid to his daughter’s caretaker; besides the night was beautiful. He checked his phone as it was getting close to three, he was gonna have to release Roxas so he could train to keep his impulses in check. He made sure Riku was on his way home before leaving. He went to a nearby gas station and picked up some Blood13. The cashier looked at him incredulously. He must've thought Sora was pulling a prank on him since Sora didn’t look like a big, mean scary vampire. 

As he approached his home he heard a loud crash. He felt his lips curl into a snarl, his fangs came out, ready to attack. If one of those blood bags found out where he lived and hurt his progeny, he was going to rip them apart. He raced into the old house ready to kill, only to find his progeny was trying to get out of his chains. He signed in relief. 

“Hold on, let me get some gloves on, quit squirming.” He was actually quite impressed. If he was chained up in that much silver he wouldn’t be able to move to save his life. 

“GET ME OUT OUT OF THESE FUCKING CHAINS!” He had bloody tears running down his face. “THEY HURT SO MUCH!” 

Sora undid his chains and Roxas lunged at him. Sora easily threw him off and into the wall. 

Sora jingled the Blood13. “I got you some blood.” 

Roxas snagged one and inhaled it, when he finished it he gagged and threw the empty bottle against the wall. It shattered on impact.

“Alright, I got a proposition for ya. Do you wanna drink someone?” Sora asked.

Roxas perked up and raced to him, wiping his tears and had a hungry grin on his face, it felt like Sora just offered the teen a thanksgiving feast. “Yes, please.” 

Sora nodded his head with a smile. “Tonight, I’m gonna teach you how to glamour and drink without killing your prey.”

Roxas was practically bouncing, the blond grabbed his hand and started to drag him towards the door. 

“Easy, it’s the weekend there will be plenty of humans out to feed on.” Sora chuckled.

“Yeah, but I won’t have to drink those nasty Blood13’s again!” He leaped into the woods, stretching out his legs. “Can you teach me how to fly?” 

“Of course, it will take a while to learn though. Not every vampire can do it.” He was happy to watch Roxas want to learn. 

Roxas stopped dead in his tracks and sniffed the air. Sora knew exactly why.

“I smell blood.” Roxas licked his lips. “And a lot of it.”

Sora recognized the smell. It was the caretaker. Roxas and Sora raced to the smell of blood. What stood before them was a clearing. By the side of the road there was a car that crashed and was wrapped around a tree. Roxas bared his fangs and went to drain him. Sora threw him back. 

“Wait!, that’s my kid’s nurse!” Sora barked.

“I just want a little bit!” Roxas whined. 

“Stay! I’ll get you a human in a minute.” Sora ordered. He went to the car. Riku must’ve fallen asleep at the wheel. He was still alive, but barely. Sora bit his wrist, blood seeped out and he put it against the silver haired boy’s lips. “Come on pretty boy, you gotta drink.” After a few drops of blood went to the human’s throat Riku started to drink.

Sora pried him out of the wrecked car and kept feeding him. The silveret’s wounds started to heal. 'Don't overcook him, don't overcook him' repeated in his head. If he gave Riku too much blood it could kill him. He needed a lot more blood than the brunet thought he would. Sora took his wrist away, allowing it to heal. The caretaker still needed to rest and he couldn’t leave him out here. Riku started to gain consciousness. Sora tilted his head so he would look at him in his eyes. 

“Look at me, Riku.” Sora started to glamour him. Riku had a blank look on his face but nodded his head. He got him. “Where do you live?” Riku croaked out his address.

Roxas watched from behind. “Can I at least lick him?” 

Sora started walking with Riku in his arms. “No. I can barely keep myself in check with him and I got a hundred years on you.” 

Roxas groaned and kicked the ground childishly. Sora rolled his eyes. “I told you I would get you a human to eat.” 

“But I’m hungry!” Roxas cried.

Luckily, they were only about a mile away from Riku’s home. Riku lived in a small brick home set back into the woods, it stood alone with no close neighbors, except him of course. The porch only covered the front end of the house and needed to be repaired seeing how much it creaked with their weight. Sora walked up the steps to his screen door. “Riku, will you invite me in please?” 

“Come in.” Riku said, still glamoured. Sora walked him in and gently placed him on the couch. He heard a definitive growl.

His head snapped up and there was a wolf..dog? She bared her teeth at him and continued to growl, almost frothing at the mouth. Usually, dogs would whimper and retreat when they smelled him. Sora raised his brow for a moment and smiled softly. "He's okay." He said quietly to the beast. The dog slowly made her way to sniff her master's hand and let out a whine.

"Yeah, he got hurt pretty bad, but he's okay now, he just needs to sleep. You're a brave dog, or maybe a stupid dog." he muttered the last part to himself.

The handmade quilt resting on the back of the couch did not go unnoticed. Sora smiled fondly. “She really cares about you.” Sora tucked the young man in. “Go to sleep, get as much rest as you need. If you have to call off work, do it. Kairi will understand.” Riku’s eyelids were heavy and he nodded his head, within a second Riku fell asleep. The wolf dog was immediately to her owner's side but kept quiet to let him sleep. She was not a stupid dog, she was simply loyal. Sora tried his luck and was able to pet her head, she wagged her tail softly and licked his hand. Sora grinned to himself, a dog hadn't let it pet them in years. Sora wrote him a quick note before leaving. He was gonna need to feed along with Roxas. 

Roxas was waiting outside of the residence impatiently. “Can we eat now!?” 

Sora nodded his head. “I need to feed too, let’s head towards the city.”

-Moon River-

(Riku)

Riku woke up to his phone ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and groggily answered. "Hello?" 

"Mr. Decker, are you gonna come to work today?" His supervisor, Aerith asked.

Riku jumped out of his skin, he was late! He ripped off the quilt only to see his clothes were ripped and covered in dry blood. He felt a chill go down his spine and he dropped his phone. He started to pat and check his body for any wounds… he didn't have any.. 

"What the fuck?" Whose blood was it?

"Mr. Decker?" Aerith beckoned politely on the other side of the line. "Are you okay?" 

He picked up the phone slowly to his ear. "I'm not coming in today. I'm sorry." He said quietly. 

"Okay, I heard about what happened, are you in the hospital?" She asked. 

"Why would I be in the hospital?" He asked. He was scared to hear why she thought he should be in one.

"Riku, your car is totaled...It was wrapped around a tree in a clearing.." She spoke slowly. 

Riku remembered driving his car home last night, his eyelids were so heavy, the last thing he remembered was closing his eyes…. It was then he realized he fell asleep at the wheel.

"Ms. Gainsborough, I'm still not feeling right, can I call you tomorrow?" He asked.

"Of course, get plenty of rest, Riku." Her voice was coated in concern before she hung up.

He collected his thoughts for a moment and looked around, he noticed a note on his coffee table. He picked it up; he didn't recognize the handwriting. It was in cursive? He didn't really know anyone who actively wrote in cursive anymore, except maybe the owner of the bar. 

**Hello,**

**I hope you slept well and feel better! I had to give you a lot of my blood, by the time I got to you, you almost bled out completely. You're probably going to have some weird dreams and I'm sorry in advance!**

**Sincerely,**

**Your Friendly Neighborhood Vampire.**

  
Riku read the note several times, trying to process what was written. When it finally clicked that the only reason he was alive was because a monster saved his life; he was baffled. Why would a vampire save him? Shouldn't they have just eaten him and left? He looked at all of the dry blood on him, it was his blood. All the rips in his clothes were from the car piercing him.

  
He needed a shower...and a drink. He grabbed a bottle of jack and made his way to the shower. He peeled off his bloody clothes and threw them in the garbage. He checked himself in the mirror and even noticed some of his old scars were gone too. He started his shower and climbed in. Riku let the water run down his body, slowly ebbing away the crusty blood and he opened his bottle of booze and drank. Kida laid down by the tub.

-Moon River-

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Xion hugged Riku and cried as she rubbed her tears into his clean shirt. "I was wondering where you were this morning! I called the Home and they said you weren't there! We came here as soon as we could!" Riku hugged her back, glad to see his friend. 

"Dude, I've seen your car; are you Superman or something? Anyone else would've died from that!" Axel asked incredulously, he was also hugging Riku. He felt warm and relieved to see his friends again. 

"I should've been dead." Riku stated. "Being alive today is sheer fucking luck." 

Xion checked Riku for any wounds but it was obvious he was unscathed. "How are you not hurt?" 

Riku pointed towards the note on the coffee table, Axel picked up the note and started to read it. 

“Holy shit..Holy fucking shit! I’ve heard that vampire blood had some crazy properties but this is incredible!” Xion snagged the paper out of his hand and started to read it as well before her head snapped back to Riku. 

"Did you know him?" Xion asked. 

"No." He didn't know any vampires. Hell, he never met a vampire until last night. That creature looked so human, before he asked for the synthetic blood Riku actually thought he was cute! He grimaced. 

"Do you think it was the vampire at the bar last night?" Xion asked pensively.

"I don't know." He hoped not. That monster's face seemed so familiar if he really thought about it. They stayed there for the day and kept Riku company. Axel brought his old car for Riku to use until his was fixed. It was gonna cost him a small fortune to get that thing fixed up even with insurance. Xion made breakfast and lunch, her brother was the better cook, but Riku thought she was just trying to keep herself busy. 

The day went by too quickly. He looked over to the window, the shadows created by the twilight loomed in the woods surrounding his home. He prayed he wouldn't have an unexpected visitor that night. 

He sent Axel and Xion home before the sun set completely, if something did happen, he didn't want them involved no matter how much they protested. Frankly speaking, Riku wanted to count his blessings, get roaring drunk and forget about the whole thing. He just wanted that vampire to disappear and never come back into his life. He grabbed the tequila from his fridge and made himself a shot. He downed it and poured himself another.

He turned on his record player in his living room and laid on the couch with tequila at hand. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell filled the silence of the home, and the sunlight finally disappeared behind the horizon. The stars and the moon shined and lit up the world softly as Riku’s eyelids felt heavy once again. Thankfully, this time he wasn’t driving his car. He was safe at home, at least he thought he was before falling asleep once again. 

After an hour or so a knocking at the door and a bark from his beloved Kida woke him up. The record player was silent, the turntable kept the record spinning absentmindedly. Riku looked at the tequila bottle in his hand that was empty but not because he drank it all, no, he spilled it on the floor when he fell asleep. He quietly muttered ‘shit’ to himself and went to get a towel to clean up his mess. The doorbell rang again. 

“I’ll be there in a minute!” He hollered as he cleaned up his hardwood floor. 

He stretched as he headed towards the door after he got his mess cleaned, his muscles were tight from sleeping on the couch. He opened the door and what stood before him was a young man who was almost a foot shorter than him. He had porcelain skin that had no acne or any blemish for that matter. His hair was brown like milk chocolate and looked thick and wild, his eyes were a bright blue, almost like they glowed. He had a soft smile on his face. He wore a simple red hoodie with the sleeves rolled up, some black shorts along with some simple black Nike shoes. Kida sat by Riku with her tail wagging. 

“Hi, how are you feeling?” he asked like he knew him already.

“I’m okay?” Riku felt his face contort in confusion. “Do I know you?” Riku asked rudely, he didn’t mean for it to come off that bad.

The young man’s face raised his eyebrows, he looked away for a moment trying to think of something to say. “Oh, I’m your neighbor. The town told me about your wreck and I wanted to check in on you.”

Riku nodded his head slowly knowing he had seen him from somewhere, he just couldn’t put his finger on it. He went through his memories and tried to pin the man, he flipped through people in town; not there. The hospital; nope. The bar? Yes.

Riku immediately backed away from the man, no, creature! It was the vampire from the bar! He slammed the door in his face. 

There was a silence for a moment before the creature spoke. “I guess you remember me now.”

“What do you want, vampire?” Riku growled. 

“I came to check in on you.” The vampire stated. “When I found you last night, you were pretty badly hurt. I was afraid my blood wouldn’t be enough to fully heal you. But I guess my blood isn’t as weak as it used to be.” 

“Well, I’m fine, leave me alone!” Riku growled. The bar vampire was the one who saved him? This skinny creature, who dwarfed Riku’s tall, broad and muscled build, carried him a mile through the unkept woods to his home?

There was silence yet again, if he was a human Riku would have felt guilty for treating him so poorly when he had saved his life. No, the guilt was still there, human or not. Riku drummed his fingers on the door, gathering courage before he spoke again. “Are you gonna bite me if I open the door?”

“No.” Riku could see the vampire shake his head through the window. 

Riku slowly opened the door and the vampire smiled but didn’t say a thing. Riku gulped from fear and swallowed his pride. “Thank you for saving me.”  
“It was no problem. It’s the least I could do. Thank you for taking care of my daughter. Her kids have gotten too caught up in their own lives; your company has made her days better.” the vampire grinned. No fangs, just straight white teeth. 

“Daughter?” Riku asked, confused. This man didn’t even look old enough to have a daughter in school, especially one who had kids herself.

The vampire chuckled. “I’m a lot older than I look. She’s ninety now, but my wife and I had her when we were twenty.” the vampire looked over to the couch. “ She made you that quilt. I can recognize her work anywhere.”

Riku’s mouth opened in shock. “Mrs. Grimes?”

He nodded. Riku fell silent, his mind flipped back to Mrs. Grimes's picture of her and her father and sure enough, the vampire fit the description, though now a lot paler and less freckled.

"What's your name?" Riku asked sincerely. 

The vampire stuck out his hand for a shake. "I'm Sora Fair, it's a pleasure to officially meet you." He smiled politely. 

Riku hesitated taking his hand, but he slowly guided his hand there. It was cool to the touch and it gave Riku goosebumps. "It's nice to meet you, Sora." Riku spoke apprehensively. 

Sora winced slightly, probably feeling Riku's fear of him and distrust. He just couldn't shake it off.  
The vampire looked almost hurt that Riku still distrusted him.

"I hope I can earn your trust enough that you won't be afraid of me one day." He paused and pondered for a moment before speaking again. "Would it be okay if I come to the bar every once in a while? It would be nice to meet the townspeople and get to know them." 

Riku questioned if he was under a spell, because he didn't want to refuse the creature. Riku decided he was gonna ask more questions before he would answer yes.

"Why did you come to this town?" 

"I wanted to be with my daughter. She's getting up there in age, and I wanted to make sure I would be there for her till the end." Sora stated. 

"Are there any other vampires in town?" Riku questioned.

"Yes, my progeny. He's still young so I need to be his guardian while he's out and about." Sora pulled at his shirt absentmindedly. It was cute.

"Progeny?" Riku asked curiously.

"Yes, I'm in charge of him to make sure he doesn't do anything too… impulsive." His voice got quieter at the end of the sentence. Riku took note of the vampire’s wariness of his progeny. He would watch that one like a hawk. “Oh,” Sora interrupted his thoughts. He pulled out his phone. Riku didn’t think vampires would need modern technology. “Let me give you my number just in case you need anything. I am your neighbor technically, I live out in an old abandoned house in the woods...I’m kinda in between homes until I buy the place officially.” He chuckled nervously. “But feel free to call during the night.” Sora looked at his phone like he was still figuring it out himself. “Roxas says these things are something humans never go anywhere without now.” 

“Kinda out of the loop still?” Cell phones have been common for over a decade now. 

“I didn’t really get out much till recently.” he stated. That was a loaded answer. 

Riku decided to take his number and listened to how he recited it clumsily. He had to remind himself that he wasn’t a person, at least not anymore. He was dead, alive by only magic. Sora waved a goodbye and told him he would see him at the bar. He couldn’t tell if he was excited or nervous. He realized that Kida didn't try to attack or harm him in any way, she looked happy to see him, and that baffled him deeply. 

-Moon River-

(Sora) 

  
His phone started to ring and he felt a wave of excitement, hoping it was the handsome nurse asking for his assistance; hopefully it was something simple and not life threatening. He answered the phone with vigor. 

“Sheriff?” a woman said flatly on the other line. His shoulders dropped, work was calling him.

“What?” he asked dryly and coldly. 

“We have a problem that requires your assistance.” he internally groaned. What petty shit did they need him now for?

“I’ll be there shortly. You’ll need to entertain my progeny while I’m doing business.” he said flatly. Vampires usually didn’t bother to waste energy on emotion and he had to act the part most when he was dealing with his citizens and their humans. 

“Of course, Sheriff.” and hung up the phone. 

Sora shoved his phone into his back pocket. He didn’t like that he was so accessible now. He missed being a human; he never had to worry about phone calls. He didn’t have a phone. 

“Roxas.” He called flatly. “Duty calls.” 

Roxas bolted into the living room. “Hell yeah! They let me feed on humans there! Was that Aqua? She got some niiiice tiddies!” he purred.

Sora raised his brow. “I thought you liked that Xion girl?” 

“Well, we both know that isn’t gonna happen. Besides, I don’t want to drag her into this world… it’s scary.” he said quietly. Sora nodded his head in agreement. “ I don’t blame you there.” he did his best to keep Kairi away from it and now that he met Riku, he would keep him away too.

He had a feeling what he was about to walk into was something he wasn’t gonna like. Roxas just seemed happy he was getting out of the house and getting some free eats. 

Sora escorted Roxas to his old mustang and they drove off to the vampire bar in Radiant Garden called Oblivion. The bar stood on its own, almost isolated from the area that surrounded it. He was obligated to come there once a month to act as a showpiece for tourists. He did the bare minimum but made sure he was dressed completely different while being showcased, he didn’t want to be recognized by locals or anyone for that manner. He even went by a different name, wore a black wig and had on colored contacts; it made goths and wannabes swoon. Aqua made him wear skin tight black latex pants that made him feel like a stuffed sardine and all these belt additives that went across his chest. Roxas caught him in his little costume and started to belt out snorts and chuckles. 

He entered the black and blue schemed establishment with his progeny through the backway. The sign on the door read ‘employees only’, when he entered he was greeted by the owner herself, Aqua. Compared to Sora and Roxas, she was ancient; but only looked to be in her late twenties. Her hair was dyed blue and cut in a fashionable shoulder length bob which was styled and spiked. She wore a short, tight, black dress that had his progeny drooling. Sora didn’t mind looking at her either. Roxas would be quite jealous if he found out Sora already slept with her years ago.

“How can I help you, heretic?” he said flatly, which earned him a quick smile. She was turned during the Spanish Inquisition.

“Someone is capturing our humans and infecting them with the Decay.” She said matter of factly, her accent was showing. The Decay was one of the few diseases that infected vampires, but it didn’t affect humans, they were simply carriers. Many extremists would get themselves infected and lure vampires to bite them. The symptoms were of course, body decaying. It was slow and painful and would last until the vampire was nothing but walking bones. Anyone with any form of sympathy would just steak the poor fuckers who were infected, there was no cure. Vampires infected with The Decay would become quite ravenous and would attack and try to feed from human, vampire, animal; anything they can dig their fangs into hoping to make the pain stop. 

“That’s pretty serious, Aqua. Do you have any leads?” he looked over to Roxas and waved him off. “Go play with a human, remember what I taught you.” 

Roxas nodded his head and went over to his favorite human waitress who went by the name Dandelion. 

“Dandelion is infected.” She smirked. Of course she waits until now. Sora huffed and called for Roxas. “Why is she here if she’s infected?” 

“We’re short on staff.” She said blandly.

Sora rolled his eyes. “ Make sure your infected staff doesn’t get bitten. Now, leads?” 

“I believe that the Daybreak Church of God is having their flock infect themselves. I’ve been seeing more and more of their kind checking out the bar.” Aqua grimace. “They even infected my Ella.” She scoffed. Ella was Aqua’s favorite human, or at least the one she sleeps and feeds from the most, she decided she was done with men in the fifties.

Sora made a ‘tsk’ noise and pushed his bangs out of his face. 

“If I ever get my hands on the one who infected her, I’ll rip out their throat and feed them to dogs.” Her fangs were half out. 

“Anything else I need to know?” he asked.

Aqua pursed her lips, her face was scrunched up with emotion and a tear went down her face. Uh oh. Aqua was not the type to let her emotions slip.“Terra is infected… He was attacked by some drainers a couple of nights ago.. He was able to escape with the last of his strength and he bit the nearest human he could get his hands on… he’s already showing symptoms.” Terra was Aqua’s first progeny. They’ve been together for centuries. Sora was surprised such an old vampire could be tricked by a bunch of drainers. Maybe they had a tasty feirie in haul? The only feirie Sora wouldn’t eat was his daughter, and that was for obvious reasons. They must’ve been rookies, if they knew how old Terra was they wouldn’t have let him go so easily. Blood from Aqua and Terra would sell for thousands on thousands. Sora and Roxas? Eh, not too much. A college kid could afford a small vial of their blood with little effort. 

“I’m sorry.” he said full heartedly as he could. Aqua loved Terra as much as he loved Kairi. “I can’t imagine how hard this is for you.” 

Aqua wiped away her tears quickly and called for one of the waitresses. This one was Alice. She looked very young, he raised his brow at his former fling. “She’s eighteen.” she stated, Sora shrugged. She presented the girl to him. She was a short petite blonde girl with big, blue doe eyes. Her chest was small but her hips, butt and thighs were curvy and thick. “Alice is clean and a virgin. I’ll loan her to you and your progeny while you work this case.” Personally, Sora wanted to feed on a certain caretaker. But who was he to pass up virgin blood? 

“Thank you, that’s very considerate of you.” he paused for a moment. “Where’s Terra?” 

Aqua sucked her teeth and looked away. “He’s in the back. He was starting to get aggressive, he broke Aurora’s arm. He’s bound.” 

He looked over to his progeny. He was busy trying and failing to flirt properly with Alice. Alice could tell he was a baby vamp and was still very young but she was patient with him and she started to give him some tips on flirting. Roxas and the human were the same age, but Roxas came from a very conservative household and wasn’t exactly a casanova in high school. Bless his heart, completely ignorant to the gravity of the situation before him.

"Take me to him. Me or you?" He asked. Was she going to be able to stake her progeny? Or would he have to be the one to end him. He didn't think he would be able to do it if he was in Aqua's position. 

"I'll do it." She sniffled. "He is mine to take care of...leaving him like this any longer would be cruel." 

Sora nodded his head. "Very well." 

She escorted him to a backroom where her beloved progeny was slowly dying a painful death. When the door was opened Sora immediately covered his nose from the putrid stench of death that hit him like a wall. He got a quick look at Terra and snapped his head at the bar owner. "He was only infected a couple of nights ago!? Aqua, this isn't a normal rate of decomposition. He looks like he's had it for months!" Terra skin was falling off him with every movement he made. It looked like he started eating himself, his lips were ripped off, and his teeth were rotting. His now milky white eyes narrowed and he hissed at both of them and started to wriggle to free himself. This once beautiful man was now something grotesque and absolutely revolting.

"He didn't look like this earlier today." She said, shocked. 

There was no use to speaking to him to see what he knew. He was just fluids and misery. Aqua told her progeny that she was sorry she couldn't save him before staking his heart and ending his pain. With one stab in the heart with a wooden stake, he turned into nothing but blood and ash. Aqua fell to her knees and started to sob. When a vampire's progeny was killed the maker would feel the same pain they felt before they met the true death. She was gripping her chest and writhing on the floor. Sora felt pity for the older vampire but did not reach for her to comfort her, he knew she did not want to be shown pity or be patronized in any shape or form. He simply told her he would be outside when she was ready to speak again.

He had to report this to his king and fast. 

-Moon River- 

(Riku)

Sora was not kidding about the weird dreams. Actually, he would have been more accurate if he said sexual dreams. Riku woke up with a hard on that was almost painful. He dreamed about sleeping with the vampire and he about reached for his phone to call the creature to come to his house so Riku could bite his neck, grip his hips and fuck his brains out. He was quite surprised about how carnal his desire was, but it also could be the fact he hadn't had sex in months. He laid his head back on his pillow and sighed. Well, this damn thing wasn't gonna go away itself and he had to go to work at the retirement home. At first, he tried to think about his ex and the times they fucked anywhere and everywhere in his house, but it just wasn't cutting it. So, he shamefully thought about the pretty vamp to get himself off. He couldn't tell if he was imagining hate fucking him or lovemaking with him, but as long as it was him it was working. After he climaxed he realized he was going to go into work full well and knowing he jerked it off to his favorite resident's dad. He hid his face in his pillow and groaned, his embarrassment burned his cheeks. He decided vampire blood was not worth this type of trouble even if he was dying. 

He walked to his shower and started to get ready for work. He scrubbed himself a bit more aggressively than usual, trying to get the sweat and desire he had for the undead creature off him. He would have to speak to Axel about the full properties of vampire blood so he could watch out for anymore undesirable side effects. Once out of the shower he dried himself, shaved his face, brushed his teeth, put on deodorant and blow dried his shoulder length, silver hair. In the mirror he noticed the bags under his eyes were gone. In fact, he felt completely rejuvenated, like he went off on a week vacation to somewhere he didn't have to lift a finger. 

He brewed himself some coffee and lazily fingered through his Facebook feed while he waited for his toast to be ready. Every girl he went to highschool with and college was either pregnant, showing off their kids, engaged or got a new promotion. The guys he went to highschool and college with were about the same, even the gay ones. He couldn't say it wasn't normal he was twenty eight afterall. Everyone grew up, including him. He noticed one of his exes messaged him and he immediately blocked them. Riku wasn't exactly good at dating good men. If they had a good job they were either emotionally unstable or emotionally unavailable. If they were broke they were fun but were not ready to settle. He knew not all men were like this; just the men he picked were. Riku crowned himself the King of Bad Decisions. His toaster popped out his bread and he quickly added butter and sweetened cinnamon, a childhood favorite of his. He stuffed the toast into his mouth and washed out his now empty mug. He quickly finished getting ready for work and drove off in Axel’s old car with Kida in tow. He was very thankful for Axel’s help. 

After clocking in he did his rounds. He greeted all of his residents, even the grumpy and forgetful ones. As he went down a narrow corridor, he noticed one particular resident doing something he hadn't seen in a long time. "Mrs. Fitzgerald, you're walking again!" He beamed. She was an old frail woman he had been taking care of for years. He hadn't seen he be able to walk in her walker for about a year. She looked up to him and smiled fondly. Riku walked up to her grinning ear to ear happy to see her improved health. She reached out a withered hand and touched his forearm. "You are such a good boy. Thank you for everything." Her old voice vibrated her whole being. "Make sure Mrs. Grimes takes all her pills today, she's been extra achy as of late." Her warm eyes beamed up at him. 

"Who are you talking to?" A masculine voice interrupted their conversation.

Riku looked up and it was his coworker, Pence. He was looking at Riku bewildered. 

Riku furrowed his brows in confusion. "What are you talking about? I'm talking to Mrs. Fitzgerald." He stated obviously. 

It was Pence's turn to make a face at Riku. "Dude… what are you talking about? Didn't you hear;" he said slowly. "She died last night in her sleep." 

Riku snapped his head where he was just talking to Mrs. Fitzgerald and she was gone like she was never there in the first place.

"Oh." Was all he could muster. It happened again. "Sorry." Was all he could say before walking off. He could feel Pence's eyes following him and he heard him mutter 'Someone forgot to take their meds today' under his breath. 

There was one big problem Riku had that ruined a lot of his past relationships and jobs… Riku was a medium and it made his life a helluva lot more difficult than it needed to. He could see the dead for as long as he could remember but he knew better than to talk to them.. on purpose at least. He got bullied a lot when he was younger because he would openly talk to them at recess. But being bullied was the least scary thing about being a medium. It was the ghosts who died violently and brutally who scared him. Some of them would still be bloody and mutilated because they still weren't over how they died. There were certain parts of town he would avoid because lynchings occurred there years ago and the ghosts were rightfully still very upset. If they knew he could see them… they would haunt him doing everything they could to get his attention. Riku did everything he could to block them out of his mind. If he helped every ghost he came into contact with, he would never sleep. 

Riku finally made it to Mrs. Grimes' room and let out a sigh of relief. She made his days better. He found her in her walking around in her room fixing it up and putting up new photos of her family. She was favoring her left leg over her right. She looked over to Riku in her doorway and smiled warmly. “Hey there, could you water my plants for me please?” he happily complied and started to spray her succulents. 

He decided to talk about the elephant in the room. “I met your dad.” he stated. 

She didn’t bother looking up from her task, but he could hear the grin on her face. “Didja now? I heard you got in a nasty car accident early yesterday morning; but it looks like you don’t have a scratch on you.” 

“You were right.” he said quietly. “If he didn’t find me I would be dead.” He paused for a moment before speaking again. “He said you sent him to keep an eye on me.” 

She was quiet for a moment and hugned up her last photo. “I was worried about you. You work so much and you seldom make time for sleep, or even time for yourself for that manner. You’re always trying to take care of everyone else you forget to take care of yourself and you won’t let anyone take care of you.” 

“I just didn’t want to be a burden to anyone. I’m sorry I worried you.” he was upset with himself that he became a burden on a man he didn’t even know because he worried an old woman. 

Without noticing it he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. She brushed away some hair off his cheek and tucked it behind his ear. “You look a lot healthier.” 

He smiled softly. “ I’ll try to take care of myself more.” Which earned him a playful flick on his ear.

“You better! I’m too old for this stressful shit.” She laughed. She interlocked her left arm with his right. “My joints are feeling a little stiff dear, walk me in the garden please.” 

“Of course.” he escorted her out of her room to go to the beautifully flowered courtyard in the center of the building. 

The garden in the center had gorgeous wisteria trees, flowering roses and hydrangea bushes against the walls of the building. Moonbeams swayed gently in the wind and kissed the walkway they traversed. The smell of flowers wafted in the air making Riku smile. 

“Did you take your meds today Mrs. Grimes?” he asked, Mrs. Fitzgerald was back in his mind once again.

“I did. Goldie always made sure I took it. I was sad to hear about her passing this morning. At least she’s not in pain anymore.” it was like she knew he was thinking about his dead resident. But of course, she would be on a lot of people’s minds today. 

Mrs. Grimes started to talk about her great grandchildren and Riku’s mind went back to the vampire who saved his life and his dream. When he thought about vampires beforehand, his heart would race from fear, now one of them had his heart pounding from desire and he didn’t like it. 

“Vampire blood is pretty potent isn’t it?” she added. Was he saying what he was thinking out loud? He looked at her stunned. “Your face is red, dear.” she added quickly. “Vampire blood in a human can cause some funny side effects. Like desire.” Her own cheeks turned slightly pink. He wanted to hide in a hole. ‘Yes, Mrs. Grimes I want to fuck your dad.’ was what his lebido was screaming while banging pots and pans. 

“That feeling will go away once the blood has run its course. It will take about three weeks though.” she chuckled. Oh, great. He was gonna be like this for three goddamn weeks? Maybe he needed to find a fling so he could get all this spent up sexual energy out of his system. He wasn't ready to be a necrophiliac. Mrs. Grimes choked on laughter and tried to pass it off as a cough. It did not go unnoticed. 


	2. Hooked on a Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi sorry for the late update, fanfictions have been taking the backburner as of late thanks to work. I was also working on some original comics and I proud to say I finished the draft of my first mini horror comic! Sorry this chapter is short but I'm already halfway through the next chapter, thanks for sticking around!
> 
> (thank you for all the kudos!)

-Moon River-

“Hey boo, how you holding up?” Axel asked as he threw some fries in the deep fryer.

“Well, I’m fine, but I have some questions about,” He looked around making sure no one was around. “You know.” he said quietly. Axel ushered Riku over. “We’ll need to talk about this privately.” he escorted Riku to the stalk room. 

“I’ve already told Xion this, but you cannot tell anyone you’ve had vampire blood. I am serious.” Axel said slowly. “Vampire blood is a very lucrative business now with gangs and the black market. There are people called drainers who snag vampires and drain them from all of their blood to sell. You’ve seen what it can do. The older the vampire, the more expensive the blood. If they found out you got blood, they would definitely hurt you just to get the vampire.” Riku nodded his head. Before Axel’s parents died, Axel was a bit of a trouble maker and knew some troublesome people. “So, tell me about your symptoms, it varies from person to person.” 

“Well,” He felt his face start to burn. Axel raised his brow confused. " I feel completely rejuvenated, there's no scars on me and I'm having weird dreams….. sexual dreams about the vampire." He barely uttered the last part.

"Ya know, that makes sense. If a vampire gives you blood that usually means they like you enough to want to keep you." He stroked his chin. "Getting someone invested in a sexual way is a good way to keep a hold on em." Axel started to let out a guttural laugh. "You're totally gonna fuck him." 

"I am not!" Riku growled. He wanted to though. 

"Oh, I know you are, you like them cute as a button. And that vampire was as cute as a button." Axel poked Riku on the nose, the silveret swatted his hand away, Axel let out a chuckle. “Don’t worry too much about it. Just keep that info on the down low.” 

Riku rolled his eyes but thanked his friend before starting his shift. The sun was starting to set and patrons were starting to settle in for dinner. When it was fully dark out, a certain vampire walked into the bar. Riku found himself absentmindedly primping himself a bit before greeting Sora. When he realized what he was doing he mentally slapped himself for acting like a highschool girl over some dead dude. Riku noticed that the vampire liked a simple and comfortable look when it came to clothes. Tonight, he was sporting a sleeveless dark blue parka, which showed he was built and lean, not just a skinny pole like Riku initially thought. He also wore black straight leg jeans and some scuffed up black converse. Simple looked good on him. With the entrance of the vampire there was a wave of silence from the usually loud and rowdy patrons. Xion was off for the night, so Ariel was the hostess. She was a young redhead from a wealthy family and attended the local college. She was a sweet girl but liked to date men her daddy didn't approve of. She was quite fascinated with the brunet, and as she directed him to a booth, she was flirting up a storm. Sora spoke to her kindly of course, but when his eyes met Riku's he lit up like a christmas tree and gave him a big grin. Riku felt his lips curl into a sincere smile before going over to greet and get Sora's order. 

"I like when you smile." Sora stated.“Your eyes light up when you do.” 

Riku covered his face and let out a forced cough to hide his reddening cheeks. He recomposed himself before he spoke. " Do you want a Blood13?" 

Sora nodded his head. “ B+, please.” 

Riku didn’t bother writing down the order and made his way over to the bar to get some synthetic blood. He could feel Tifa’s eyes on him as he pulled out a full bottle. He placed it in the microwave to heat it up. 

“Why are you serving that _thing_?” She narrowed her eyes and her lips snarled when she said the word ‘thing’. He wondered if the vampire could hear her.

“It’s a part of my job; plus, it would be nice to get rid of these damn cases finally.” Not to mention he saved Riku’s life. 

Tifa was filling up a pitcher with Blue Moon with a forced smile. “So, if we throw it away, it won’t come back?”

Riku felt his lips curl into a grin and he shook his head playfully. “I don’t think the boss will appreciate us tossing away a sellable product. “ The microwave beeped and he took out the warm bottle. He stood next to her and he was taller than her by a few inches. She was a beautiful and built brunette and was well stacked in more ways than one. She had warm, and playful brown eyes. She brushed away her long, straight brown hair from her shoulders. With that smooth move she made the men swoon. 

“Won’t know if we don’t tell.” She wiggled her brow. Riku snorted and kissed her cheek. “Play nice, I’ll take care of the scary vampire.” he taunted, he saw her as an older sister.

She rolled her eyes and flipped him off. “Scary my ass. I could take on that vampire with one arm tied behind my back.” Riku believed it. She was tough as nails and could hold her own. In his peripheral, he saw the vampire had an amused grin on his face. He could hear her.

Riku made his way over to give his undead patron his drink. "Here ya go, nice and hot." 

Sora thanked him and took a swig. Riku noticed the vampire's nose scrunch up and he swallowed some. 

"Does it not taste good?" He inquired.

"It's better than the others." Sora omitted. "Synthetic can't compare to the real stuff." Riku felt his stomach churn at the thought of something, someone, who looked this harmless biting down and feeding off of someone.

Sora eyes flickered over Riku's face and the vampire's face turned a shade of pink. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Riku put on his professional mask. " Don't worry about it, do you need anything else?" He did his best to perk up.

"Not at the moment, thank you though." Sora smiled sheepishly. 

Riku continued on with his job. He noticed he was more alert while taking orders, he was practically gliding around the bar, not one missed step, no minor trips from the old wooden floorboards and he got many compliments. One woman admired his clear and bright complexion. Another woman cooed how she wished her hair was as shiny as his. He was stopped by a man when he was by the bathroom, and he covertly slipped a phone number in Riku's hand. He was there with his wife and kids. Riku made sure the man could see him crumpling up the piece of paper and throwing it in the toilet. He may not make the best choices, but he wasn't a fucking homewrecker. 

Sora ordered another drink before asking for a bill. Before he left he told Riku to drive home saftely with a sweet and sincere smile. He waited until the vampire left before checking his tip he got and he was glad he did because his jaw dropped! For two Blood13's Sora tipped him a hundred dollars. A hundred dollars!

"What kind of job does he do!?" Riku asked himself bewildered. He thought about it and realized maybe he didn't want to know. Maybe he was a vampire hitman? He was so innocent looking he would be able to get the jump on anyone. He walked out the employees only door where he knew Axel would be taking his smoke break. The owner was kind enough to leave a picnic table out there with an umbrella so the crew could smoke and or enjoy the weather without having to stay on their legs. Axel was out there as usual dragging on a cigarette while looking at something on his phone.

"Hey boo, how are ya feeling?" Axel asked, his voice was slightly muffled since he didn't bother to take the cancer stick out of his mouth as he spoke. Riku took a seat next to him and relaxed his shoulders. They sat there silently for a moment before Axel spoke. "It got louder in there; did the vampire leave?" 

Riku nodded his head. "Yeah." He pulled out the hundred dollar bill to show to Axel. "He gave me a hundred bucks for a ten dollar bill."

Axel turned his head so he wouldn't blow smoke in his silver haired friends face. "He must be sweet on ya." 

Riku put back the bill. "Nah, I just take care of his daughter at the Home." 

"No shit?" Axel put out his cigarette quite disrespectfully on the actual table. There was a divot where the cook liked to put them out frequently. "Fuck, he's old as shit then. Then again, most of them are." Riku nodded his head, acknowledging the cook. 

They gossiped like middle school girls for the remainder of their break before going back to work. The rest of the night went smoothly, and Riku was able to get out at a reasonable time. He talked to Axel and Xion for a while when he went to pick up Kida; around two in the morning he was home.

-Moon River-

  
Riku was in a deep sleep in his comfy bed when he heard Kida start to growl. The silveret groggily told his girl to be quiet. It was probably a deer. She whined at him for a moment but started to growl more viciously while she crept off the bed towards Riku's bedroom door. Riku felt his whole body stiffen and his grogginess dissipated in nanoseconds. Riku quietly grabbed his shotgun and readied it before starting to creep towards his bedroom door. He jumped when he heard loud, and frantic knocks on the door.

"OH GOD PLEASE LET ME IN!" A voice shrieked. It sounded like a young man. "I'M BLEEDING, HE BIT ME!" the young man choked back a sob. "MY FRIEND IS DEAD, DON'T LET ME DIE!" the boy wailed. Riku gulped and his stomach dropped.Did Sora attack him? Sora lived by apparently. The boy resulted to start incoherently wailing while banging on his door! Kida was still growling, she looked like a feral wolf. He hadn't seen her act like this since the bear attack. Riku kept his gun on him, but he couldn't ignore this guy. 

Riku walked briskly to the door and opened the main door but left the screen door locked. This boy looked to be a blond teenager and was built petite and lithe. He kept his head down and hid his face with his hands as his shoulders shook. There was blood all over his ripped t shirt.  
"Please let me in." He asked pitifully. Riku was about to open the screen door but then he felt Kida nip his hand and put her body between him and the door. The silveret scanned the boy and noticed this guy had no wounds. He backed away from the door and aimed his shotgun at the boy.

"Who are you?" Riku growled. 

The boy stopped crying, in fact his body stopped moving all together… it didn't even seem like he was breathing...the blond lifted his head up to stare at Riku blankly. Cold, deep…..dead blue eyes. 

"Let me in." He demanded. There was blood going down his cheeks where it looked like there were supposed to be tear stains. He looked at his mouth and noticed two sharp fangs peeking out. Vampire. Riku cocked his gun and aimed the barrels at the creature's forehead. 

"Get the fuck off my property." Riku made his voice even like steel. 

The vampire snorted. "You think that will kill me!?" He took one step closer. "Let me in, human." If he was so strong, why didn't he just break through the door and kill him? Riku decided he was gonna make the first move. He wasn't gonna die without a fight. He took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. His screen door splintered and had a huge hole in it thanks to the bullet he fired… but there was no vampire lying dead on his porch. Before the silveret could even register it, the vampire stood before him again and he locked eyes with him. Everything started to melt away. His body felt numb and he couldn't move. The only thing he could see was those dead blue eyes and the only thing he could hear was the vampire speaking to him. 

"Invite me in." The voice commanded.

"Come in." Did he say that? It sounded like his voice. He wasn't in control of his body. He opened the screen door for the vampire to enter. The creature kept his piercing gaze on him but he licked his lips hungrily. Kida pounced him, but the vampire easily dodged her. The blonde broke his eye contact to glare at the dog. Riku felt control over his body again. "Put up your fucking dog! I don't want to hurt animals!" Riku blinked, blindsided by the vampire's request.

The blonde vampire huffed and picked up the snarling dog like she was a feather and dropped her on the porch before slamming the heavy wooden door on her. Riku used this to pick up his shotgun, before he could cock it, it was snatched away and thrown to the other side of the room. The vampire pinned him against the wall. "I'm tired of playing games." He said with venom laced in his voice. The blond leaned into Riku's chest, since he was too short to reach his neck, and inhaled. "You smell so good." He purred. Riku tried to break free of the tiny vampire's hold but it was impossible to wriggle himself free from his grip. "LET GO OF ME!" He roared.

"No fuckin' way." He chuckled. "I've never smelled a human that smelled as good as you." The blond swiftly knocked down Riku by the knees and climbed on top of him. The vampire threaded his fingers into Riku's hair, grabbed a gob and pulled, craning and exposing Riku's neck to be bitten. Riku was kicking, hitting and wriggling. He was doing everything in his power to get the creature off of him! The blond bent his head down and gave Riku's neck a languid lick and growled. Before the blond could bite him something knocked him off and sent him flying into the living room wall. The silveret laid on the ground still in total shock he didn't even notice someone was standing over him offering their hand.

"You okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine." He groaned biting back some pain he had from trying to fight the blond vampire. He took the voice's hand and it was cool. He was finally able to place the voice, it was Sora! The brunet absentmindedly started to check his body for wounds. 

"You got a few scratches and bruises, but you'll be okay." Sora assured him. "Hey, want to learn a neat trick?"

Riku raised his brow. "Sure." 

Sora turned his head and grinned at the blond vampire who stood there frozen, unable to think of his next move. "Say 'Roxas, I resend my invitation'." 

Riku pursed his lips but said it anyway flatly and with confusion. "Roxas, I resend my invitation."

The front door slammed open on its own and he watched with amazement how the blond started to backpedal out of the house with this look of shock on his face. When he was out of the house the door slammed shut. Roxas? Like Xion's friend, Roxas? 

"COME ON! I JUST WANTED A BITE!" Roxas whined. 

Sora ignored Roxas and turned his attention back to Riku. "Vampires can only come in if they have been invited into a mortal's home." 

Riku narrowed his eyes at the brunet. "I never invited you in." 

Sora grinned mischievously. "I have my ways."

"Sora, I resend my invitation." Riku grinned smugly. Little shit did the same thing to Riku too, probably when he was hurt from the wreck.

The door slammed open again and the brunet started walking backwards and Riku laughed when he saw Sora's bewildered look on his face. The door slammed shut once again. After a second there was a knock on the door. 

"Your dog is out here." Sora stated lamely.

Riku opened the door still wearing a smug look on his face and whistled for his girl. Kida avoided Roxas but she wagged her tail when she went to Sora. She gave his hand a lick before prancing back into the house. Guess she didn't seem scared now that the brunet was here. He kept his door open and leaned against the doorway. He wanted answers. 

"Roxas?" He inquired, the blond vampire raised a brow and glowered. "Are you Roxas Rhodes?" 

Roxas strightend. "Yeah, why?" He asked genuinely. 

"Xion has been wondering about you." Roxas' eyes widened. 

"You know her?" He zipped up to Riku so quickly he backtracked more into his house. Roxas didn't cross the threshold, he wasn't able to. Riku nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm her coworker." 

Roxas' cold eyes softened. "I miss her." He said quietly. "I want to see her.. but I'm scared I'll eat her." He looked down at the floor of the porch almost shamefully. "I'm always so hungry." Riku fought the urge to scrunch up his face in disgust. 

  
Roxas caught Riku staring at his bloody shirt and sighed. "Relax, it's that fake blood crap. I didn't eat anyone." 

'Yeah, but you were trying to suck my blood less than five minutes ago' Riku thought. Sora appeared next to Roxas, he looked remorseful. "I'm so sorry I didn't keep a closer eye on Roxas. I thought since we had something fresh at home, he wouldn't leave." Something fresh? Did they bring home one of those people who _liked_ to get their blood sucked? Ew. Sora continued hastily. "I'll make sure your door and wall get fixed up in the morning!" 

'Damn right you will.' Riku wanted to yell, but he would at least act decent to the vampire who's done nothing but be courteous and save his life, now twice. "Thank you for saving me." Riku said sincerely. Sora beamed at him, Roxas raised his brow at the older vampire with an inquiring look. 

"It was no problem." Sora scratched the back of his head bashfully. Mrs. Grimes was right, her dad was sweet… for a blood sucker. Sora's phone rang, and he answered it quickly, but not in his usual cheerful and sweet voice.

"What?" He deadpanned coldly. He heard a muffled voice coming from the phone and after a minute or two he hung up without saying goodbye. Talk about poor phone etiquette. Sora sucked his teeth and exhaled. "Fuck, time to work." 

"What do ya do?" Riku asked.

Sora waved the question off. "I just gotta do some vampire shit. It's nothing to worry about." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, he was miffed about something. 

Roxas looked like he wanted to say something but he decided he pissed off the older vampire enough for the night. Riku said something he never thought he would. "Can we talk more soon?" 

Sora's mood went from miffed to shocked. "Really?" 

"Yeah," he paused. "I'm free Tuesday, if you wanna hang out?" He asked cautiously.

Sora was silenced by shock before he answered. “I would love to.” he said softly.

Riku said goodbye to the vampires for the night. Sora made sure he had a grip on the blonde before disappearing into the night to do whatever he did. Riku looked at his splintered screen door and scowled. He guessed he needed a stake more than a shotgun.


	3. Moonage Daydream

  
(Roxas) 

Sora and Roxas glided through the woods to their humble abode. Roxas was still getting used to his enhanced senses. He could hear the animals moving along the cluttered forest. He could pick up a snapped branch from a mile away and the flutter of an owl’s wings. The stars were bright and the moon bathed them with its soft light. If he was human still, he would be up playing games online with his friends, lying about how far he’s went with girls he made up and when he was done talking to the boys he would go into his shower and shamelessly jerk off to Xion along with other girls he seen online or real life until he got off. Roxas had no game, he wasn’t a ugly guy by any stretch of the imagination… he was just homeschooled until his junior year of highschool. Ever since he became a vampire, he noticed his sexuality was a bit more fluid. To him, the sex of the partner really didn’t matter anymore he just wanted to feed and fuck anything that looked good, though, he still preferred girls for the most part. 

“Roxas?” Sora brought him back to the present. He saw glowing blue eyes piercing him. Sora eyes naturally glowed, he had to dim them down when he was around humans and around most supernatural beings. Vampires with glowing eyes were very rare, it meant they were powerful...really, really powerful.

“Yeah?” He asked defensively. He knew he was gonna get his ass chewed out.

Sora stopped in his tracks, he was a couple inches taller than Roxas, and made sure to make eye contact with him. Sora heaved a deep breath to show his frustration before speaking. “You are so fucking lucky I got there as quickly as I did. Listen here boy,” Roxas refrained from rolling his eyes, Sora didn’t look at day over twenty. He looked silly calling an eighteen year old ‘boy’. “ If I didn’t grab you by the scruff of your neck and got you off that human you would've killed him.”

“You just don’t want to share him.” Roxas snorted. Roxas may have had no game, but he knew Sora wanted more than that human’s blood. He had to admit, if he had to lose his virginity to a man, he wouldn’t complain if it was the silver haired himbo who lived at the base of the mountain. Roxas grinned when he saw Sora’s face turn red. It was a mix of embarrassment and anger. Sora pointed his finger into the blond’s chest, his lips pursed tightly. “That.. is besides the point! Roxas, you need to stop trying to feed off humans that live near you. There are no laws to protect you anymore. These country folk can and will hunt your ass down and stake you for sport. It doesn't matter who you used to be, to them you are no longer one of them, you are a beast.”

“Ha, like they could catch me.” Roxas said arrogantly. 

“I’m not worried about you in the nighttime… it's the daytime that I’m worried about.” Sora said coldly. “You do enough stupid shit they’ll find out where you rest...you remember we cannot wake in the daytime, right? It would take the jaws of life to make a vampire somewhat coherent in the daytime…” Roxas bit his lip and put his head down and kept his gaze away from the older vampire. He didn’t want to admit that weakness. Sora lifted his chin up gently. “Roxas, I’m not trying to be cruel to you. I know you’re hungry all the time and it’s painful, but you need to be smart about your feeding. Also,” Sora tightened his grip on Roxas’ chin and gave it a good tug.”try to bite Riku again and I’ll beat you until you can only feed through a tube.” 

Roxas noticed a trait that many vampires shared, they were very possessive with what they believed was theirs, and Sora was making it very clear that the himbo was his and his alone. If Roxas wasn’t his progeny… he wouldn’t have made it out of that house alive. He nodded his head and apologized. Sora gave him one more hard look before letting go of his chin and sighed. 

“I have an audience with the King tonight. He’ll give you some premium blood while I speak to him.” Roxas smiled. They wouldn’t complain too much if he accidentally drained someone. He was practicing with Alice, but he almost killed her once already. He was pretty bad at stopping once he started.

He heard through Aqua that Sora was pretty ravenous when he was first turned.. But he had his maker to stop him from doing anything too stupid. Roxas didn’t have that luxury, his maker made him and abandoned him; left him tied up in silver to meet the sun. They left a camera there to record the newborn being fried until he died. Apparently, snuff films like that were highly requested. Thankfully, Sora saved him.

They made it to the old cabin in the woods where they resided. It was moldy and dilapidated, but it was home for now. They accommodated Alice by buying a generator, a fridge full of food, and a bed for her to sleep in..Sora and Roxas slept under the cabin in the cellar; light tight. Alice greeted them at the door and he felt a pang of guilt looking how he had marred her neck with fang punctures.

Sora was at least thoughtful enough to heal her wounds after he fed from her. Roxas had witnessed firsthand how the brunet would feed. He was quite gentle with them. He would glamour them and caress their cheeks. He would smile at them warmly and say sweet nothings in their ears. When he went to bite them, it looked like he was just kissing their neck lovingly, until blood started to drip down. He was also skilled enough to make the bite not hurt too bad.. the human usually had a longing look in their eyes when he stopped feeding. Roxas would get second hand embarrassment, it was like the brunet was with a lover. He guilt diminished however and a green haze of jealousy wafted from him because Alice was happy to see Sora and not him. She flirtatiously leered at him and he paid her no mind. 

“Hello master!” she curtsied. “Welcome home, would you like some blood?” 

“I’ll be okay Alice, Roxas would probably like some.” Sora went to his room to change into more formal clothes. Her eyes darted to Roxas and she flinched but quickly put on her mask and smiled politely at Roxas. Roxas scoffed and used his finger to beckon her to him. He childishly didn't bother glamouring her and bit into her neck. She let out a squeak, she trained herself not to scream. The taste of iron filled his mouth and it was better than any steak he had when he was alive. He fed until she tapped him on the arm. He took one more gulp and stopped. He gave her neck a lick to help the blood coagulate and thanked her, but he averted his eyes shamefully. He was being mean to her because he was jealous. Everyone liked Sora...and everyone was scared of Roxas.

When Sora returned from his room he looked like a whole different person. He was dressed to the nines in an expensive tux, his hair was tousled back and managed, making him look older. Sora was in the middle of straightening his cuffs as he walked. 

"You clean up pretty good." Roxas nodded his head in approval. Sora poked his index finger on the blonde's chest and pointed out a fresh bloodstain. "Put on something clean." His elder chided.

Roxas pulled off his shirt as he walked to his dresser in the other room. "Sure." He said dismissively.

While Roxas was pilfering through his dresser he noted that most of his clothes were stained and frowned, but thankfully he was able to find something clean and stain free. After a quick change he met back up with the couple in the living room.

"Ready to go?" Sora asked. Roxas nodded his head. The mustang was down the mountain, but they would get there in no time. There was no way in hell they could get that thing up here, not with all the trees and boulders.

-Moon River- 

  
If Roxas was human again, he would be absolutely terrified of Sora's driving. Frankly speaking, he drove like a bat outta Hell. 

"Geez, who taught you how to drive?" Roxas snipped. 

"If you don't like my driving, you can walk your whiny ass to the palace." Sora grumbled. 

"At least if I'm driving, we won't have to worry about a speeding ticket." Roxas argued.

"The only reason I'm driving is because you can't fly, and I ain't gonna lug your ass all the way there!" That was bullshit, he loved his car. When he wasn't going over a hundred miles an hour, he was babying it. 

"Whatever helps you sleep in the daytime, chief." Roxas said unenthusiastically. He caught the older vampire's lips purse into an annoyed pout. 

The palace was about a hour away by car. It was smack dab in the middle of the human capital, Midgar. Roxas had been there a couple of times for school trips to the museum and aquarium, but the palace was placed in a more lucrative location. The blond learned early about the pecking order in the vampire world. There were regular vampires like him, up next were officials that took care of daily needs, then there were sheriffs like Sora; they ruled over a specific area in the kingdoms they resided in. Then there were the kings and queens themselves, they held absolute rule over all their areas; everyone in their kingdom was under their hand. Going against your king or queen was a form of treason, a quick death is the best option if one is ever accused of such.

The palace didn't exactly look like something from a fairy tale but it looked more like an extravagant manor. The large and self important courtyard surrounding the manor was teaming with vampire bodyguards. The fence surrounding the main entrance was littered with human protesters saying everything under the sun on why vampires were pure evil that needed to be sent back to Hell. They drove past that entrance and went to a shady looking parking garage about a block or two away. Olympus Parking was guarded by more vampire guards and the garage was filled with cars that were never driven. Humans had no idea that this was the actual entrance.

Sora pulled in and a valet took the car to be parked. Roxas queued behind the sheriff as they went to the elevator. They descended several floors below the surface. With a ding, the doors opened to a waiting room and nestled between two doors a beautiful secretary was manning the front desk. She smiled curtly at the two of them and asked for identification. Roxas noted that she was dressed in simple but expensive fashion, he looked at his own clothes and felt self conscious. It wasn't that Sora didn't bother to get him nice clothes, the blonde was just a wild and messy eater. He felt a hand grip his shoulder gently and it jogged him back to reality. 

"Time to move." Sora stated.

They went down the door to the left and were followed by the king's bodyguards. After a few minutes only Roxas was stopped by the guards. 

"Sheriff, we'll be taking your progeny to go get something to eat. Would you like us to send a donor to you?" The tallest bodyguard asked, he had a guiding arm on the small of Roxas' back. He was being micromanaged.

Sora shook his head and spoke flatly. "No, please keep him safe until my return." The guard nodded his head. Sora smiled at the blond and tousled his hair. "I'll be back shortly, play nice." 

"I will." Roxas knew better not to make any snide or rude remarks to Sora around the palace. Gossip moved quickly here. 

The blond watched as his elder moved forward to the main part of the palace, the guard ushered him to a smaller hallway adjacent to the main one. He hoped this would all be over quickly.

-Moon River- 

(Sora)

Sora felt like a bundle of nerves as he locked his eyes on Roxas until he couldn't see him down the hallway anymore, he did his best to listen to his footsteps. Roxas was going to be okay, but he still couldn't help but worry. He prayed the sole reason he was summoned was because of the investigation. Sora rarely got an audience with the king, even when he desperately needed his assistance. As far as the king was concerned, if it could be contained with little death, he saw no reason to involve himself.

As he walked down the hall he whiffed a familiar smell and his stomach dropped. The only reason that little weasel would be here was because his maker would be coming to this kingdom soon. His whole mood was soured beyond repair for the night.

"I see you know Marluxia was here tonight." One of the bodyguards named Demyx, snickered. His helmet and black armor shrouded most of his recognizable features, but his voice and personality gave him away easily.

Sora shot him a glare and felt his 'gift' slip loose from his grip. A thin patch of frost coated the offending bodyguard's clothing and exposed face. The guard raised his brow and the frost ebbed away. He put his hands to his face and gasped dramatically. “Sheriff! How could you!? I know Marly is a real _prick_ ,” he giggled at his own pun. “But don’t take it out on me! I hate fighting!” 

Sora wanted to snarl, anytime his maker came here to this kingdom, Sora had to be the one to escort him. He didn’t want to deal with Marluxia and his petty jealousy and he didn’t want to deal with his maker in any shape or form!

“Demyx, stop teasing him.” The other bodyguard, Siax, muttered lazily. “You know his history.”

Demyx crossed his arms and huffed. “He acts like his maker is so awful to be around! I wish my maker was like Yozora. He just _adores_ you!” 

Sora's face hardened so he wouldn't wince. A long time ago he would be in the clouds hearing that Yozora adored him, but now he felt pity for the ancient vampire. Sora just could not reciprocate the love he used to have for him.. not after what happened.

"Demyx, when will you learn to keep your mouth shut." Sora's tone was meant to be clipped but it just came out exasperated. He hadn't even made it to the throne room and he was exhausted. He would much rather be with Roxas right now sucking blood from stupid humans that got off on being fed on. Though, his ideal night would be spending it with Riku, learning more about him and drinking in his beauty in the moonlight… and maybe a sip of his blood.

After walking down the winding hallways littered with expensive busts and artwork they made it to the marble double doors that lead to the throne room. Siax and Demyx opened the doors for the sheriff and announced his arrival to the king. 

King Sephiroth was a tall and dominant figure with long silver hair and piercing blue eyes that could cut through men. He was beautiful as well as cold and calculating. He usurped the throne a decade ago with a carefully planned coup d'é·tat. Sora was a part of his plan and as reward for his service he was given the duty Sheriff of area thirteen. His loyal secretary stood idly by his side.

Sora bowed his head respectfully. "Your majesty, it's an honor to be in your presence." 

"Sheriff of area thirteen, I believe you need my assistance on something tonight?" Sephiroth asked in a lukewarm manner.

"Yes, your majesty. My area is facing a serious crisis that can spill into the other twelve areas if no quick action is taken." He paused to allow the king to digest the seriousness of the issue. "I believe the disease known as The Decay has been genetically modified to accelerate its symptoms. Several vampires in my area have already caught this wicked illness and they are deteriorating at a terrifying rate. My deputy hypothesizes the Daybreak Church of God is infecting their flock with a modified version of the disease to cut down the vampire population." Sephiroth stared down at Sora boredly. Sora bit back a growl. His king was too proud and arrogant, but he was a definite improvement over Xehanort. Sora decided to continue pleading his case. "Your highness, these vampires that are being infected are old and strong. Newborns cannot make up for their experience and fighting abilities. Our line of defense is weakening…" he decided to pull the last stop. Sora shifted his body into a more relaxed manner and clicked his tongue. "If someone like my maker saw disease like this cutting down your defense, he might try to take over your kingdom. Marluxia is already sniffing around here isn't he?"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. Sora smugly ginned. Finally caught his attention. 

"What do you need in order to squash this inconvenience?" Sephiroth seethed.

"Well, I'm glad you asked!" Sora chirped. He started to count on his fingers with demands. "I'll need there to be a halt on feeding directly from humans until we can get some blood work testing available. I need you to spread awareness to the other areas to keep the rest of the kingdom safe from exposure. We'll need scientists to examine the disease directly and see if there is a way to reverse and or reduce symptoms. Oh! I'll need some day men to investigate and infiltrate the church to see what they are up to. Anything else I'll need I'll ask as soon as I think of them." 

Sephiroth soaked in all the demands before looking at his secretary. "Did you get all that?" He asked dryly. The plain assistant nodded their head. "I'll mobilize everything immediately, your majesty." They bowed and left the throne room in a blink of an eye. 

The king shifted in his throne and a small but mischievous smile grew on his face. "Now that your demands have been met, I have an extra assignment for you." Sora was already dreading it. "Your maker, King Yozora, of the Wutai empire, will be here next month to enjoy our kingdom's festivities. He has asked for you to personally escort him. You will meet all of his needs and demands." All the joy from getting what he wanted for his investigation was drained out of him, he felt himself physically pale. All needs and demands meant ALL needs and demands. His king continued. "This shouldn't be an issue, of course, knowing your history together. I'm sure you'll have a grand time escorting your ex husband."

Sora kept silent but nodded his head. He wanted to throw up but he knew it wasn't possible. He bit back his pride and strained his answer. “Yes, Your majesty.”

“Get out.” The king dismissed Sora in his usual manner.

Sora bowed once more before leaving the throne room to collect Roxas. Before he could speak, Sora knew who was approaching him.

“I see you’ve been hanging around a quite delectable human. My nose never lies.” Sora rolled his eyes and groaned.

“Well, if it isn’t the rosey cunt himself.” Sora stated dryly.

Marluxia let out a humorless chuckle. Sora felt thin fingers wrap around his jawline and held his head firm, nails lightly dug into his skin. Pink hair created a veil in Sora’s vision and lips brushed against his ear. “ I sure hope Yozora has nothing to worry about.” Marluxia murmured, his towering figure enveloped Sora’s more petite figure.

“He doesn’t.” Sora growled.

“You are looking paler than usual… you haven't been giving your blood to anyone as of late, have you?” Sora clamped his hand on top of Marluxia’s hand digging into his face and squeezed until he felt the pink haired bastard’s bones start to snap. The taller man ripped his hand away with a hiss… that turned into a laugh. “My, my, I touched a nerve.” Sora could hear the bones in the pink haired vampire’s hand start to heal. Marluxia flexed his fingers to see if everything was back in working order. “Don’t forget, I have eyes everywhere. The flowers whisper their secrets to me.” He purred. Marluxia's eyes narrowed and a wicked smirk grew on his face. "Maybe I should pay this human a visit, he must be something important if you're giving him blood.. do you give him blood in exchange for sex-" he was cut off when the sheriff grabbed him by the collar and yanked him down to his eye level. 

"Stay out of my area." Sora hissed and bared his fangs. "That human is mine and mine alone. If you try anything with him I won't hesitate to cut you down." The temperature in the hallway dropped dramatically. Ice crystals started to form on Marluxia's long eyelashes. Sora tossed him to the ground and walked away. He used too much of his gift and it was taking a toll on him. He needed blood.

  
"Farewell, _Sunshine_." Marluxia's sneered with glee. It took all of Sora's willpower not to turn around and beat the shit out of the cunt until he keeled over. That pet name was given to him by Yozora, long before he was even turned into a vampire.

Only Marluxia's eyes followed him through the hallway until he turned into a new hallway towards the feeding area. 

Roxas was as happy a loke and face deep in some woman's inner thigh. A thin layer of blood painted her inner thigh, her moans echoed in the large, immaculate room. 

A doner approached him, she wore revealing lingerie showing off her beautiful dark brown skin. She tucked her long, curly hair away from her neck. "Care for a bite?" She purred.

Sora nodded his head and smiled at her sweetly. "I'm starving."

-Moon River-

He had Roxas drive them home, the weight of tonight's actions was almost unbearable. 

"Dude, you look like shit." Roxas commented. 

"I feel like shit." Sora stated.

"Didn't go as planned?" Roxas raised his brow. 

"Could've been alot worse." Sora smiled weakly. "Hey, Roxas?"

"Yeah?" 

"If you see any roses near the cabin or Riku's place, destroy them." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I would love to hear your thoughts on this fanfic so far :D


	4. Walkin' After Midnight

-Moon River-

(Riku) 

"Who the hell keeps on tearing up my rose bushes!?" Riku barked. 

For the past day or so, someone or something was ripping up his rose bushes. People may not be able to see his garden, but he took pride in it damnit! He stabbed the earth with his spade shovel in frustration.

“I bet it’s those damned forest rats.” Riku growled referring to the deer. It was finally tuesday, and he could finally get some chores done around the house. Kida was enjoying her master being home for the day and happily trotted by his side while they strolled down the front lawn, inspecting the garden for weeds and anymore destroyed plants. Riku checked his phone and looked over his messages with Sora. He hated to admit it, but he was excited to see him again. He couldn’t wait to talk to him again. He wondered what it would be like to hold his hand longer than a mere second or so. He wanted to see him smile again. 

After tending to his yard, he returned to his house to take a shower. The hot water relaxed his muscles and swept away the grime and sweat from working outside. Kida popped her head through the shower curtain and out a ‘boof’ before joining him in the shower. This shower could not fit the two of them comfortably.

" Get outta here ya big beast!" Riku laughed while trying to push the wolfdog out. It's always the big dogs who thought they were lap dogs. Kida let out an animated whine and kept trudging forward so she could stick her head under the water. She had water in her bowl, she just liked being where Riku was. Riku was able to grab her and put her out with some effort, not only was she squirmy, but she was well over ninety pounds. Riku started his cleaning ritual.

As he cleaned himself, his mind started wondering, did vampires eat? Do they only drink blood? Why can't they come out in the daylight? Was garlic poisonous to them? Where did Sora hide his fangs? What did Sora's fangs look like? All these questions could be answered by a red head. He turned off his shower and quickly dried off and put on some comfortable clothes. He picked up his phone and dialed Axel's number.

"Hey babe, how was your date last night?" Axel asked. Riku had nearly forgotten about the disaster of a date he went on last night.

"Oh, yeah, that was total shit." Riku pinched the bridge of his nose and started to share his frustrations. " So, asshole takes me out to this nice restaurant in the suburbs, it's nice and he seems decent and cute. Then, this older guy comes over to our table and wraps his arm around my date and kisses his cheek." He heard Axel utter 'oh shit' under his breath. "Apparently, these two are dating and they want me to join them in a threesome! What the fuck, I never gave the guy any inclination I wanted to do that!" He heard Axel bark out hardy laughs. " I even told the guy I wasn't the type to sleep with people on the first date!" Riku exasperated.

  
"I'm sorry, that sucks." Axel said in between giggles. "But honestly sounds like a good time to me." 

"Of course it does to you." Riku muttered and shifted his phone to his other ear.Compared to Axel, Riku was a prude. "Man, I wish I was more like you Axel, I never see you get heartbroken or hurt over dates." 

He heard Axel shift his weight over the phone before speaking." I don't get attached. You on the other hand though…" Axel trailed off playfully. Riku rolled his eyes.

"Besides," Axel started again. "You already like someone." 

"Who would that be?" Riku asked skeptically. The silveret could feel Axel's growing grin on the other side of the line.

"You're seeing him tonight." Axel simply stated. 

Riku felt his cheeks burn. "We're just friends." 

"Oh, so now you guys are friends now?" Axel mused. 

"Shut up." Riku said apathetically.

“Okay, I know you didn’t call me just to get embarrassed. What’s up?” Axel asked.

Riku scratched and closed his eyes and forced the words out of his mouth. “What do you think I need to know before hanging out with a vampire?”

Axel clicked his tongue. “If you’re thinking about kissing him, don’t eat garlic. Vampires can’t stand the smell of garlic. You don’t need to get food, they only drink blood, buy some bottles unless you are willing to donate.” Axel added mischievously.

“Ha ha.” Riku added flatly.

“Don’t worry about it so much and have fun!” Riku cracked a smile hearing that from his friend.

Axel added one more thing."Oh, by the way, vampires can't swallow cum." And promptly hung up the phone. Riku looked at his phone bewildered.

He pocketed his phone and grabbed Axel's keys. On his chore list he needed cleaning supplies, coffee, beer and Blood13. His eyes naturally went to his living room walls and screen door. They looked pristine, no one would be able to tell a vampire was thrown into the wall and a shotgun shell obliterated his screen door a couple of days ago.Riku locked the door behind him and made his way to town. As he drove down his gravel driveway he fiddled with the radio and changed it to the classic rock station. He sang along to The Ramones, he wasn't as bad as Axel when it came to singing but he definitely wasn't a songbird. Potholes in the road caused his radio to slip here and there and made his car rattle. He tried to avoid them, but Twilight Town didn't exactly have the money to fix the roads. 

It was around ten in the morning, most children were in school and most people were at work. The only people really out were the elderly, mothers with small children, and night shift workers. He pulled into the Darry's Grocery parking lot just off main street. 

Riku accidentally picked the cart with the busted front wheel, he tried to ignore it as he pushed it around the aisles. He checked his social media here and there while looking for his items. Riku wondered if Sora had social media. Roxas did, but he went under a different name since he was still considered 'missing'. The blond must not have many people to talk to because he would message Riku as soon as the sun would set, sending pictures, memes, and stupid shit he had to get off his chest. He was still salty about Roxas trying to eat him so he never replied to the blonde's messages...but he did read them. 

Riku checked his Snapchat for new messages and Roxas also snapped him as well. He opened his messages and the captioned pictures piqued the silveret's interest. Roxas took a selfie in a black an blue accented bar with Sora in the background and it was captioned 'look at all the stupid faces he makes while working lol'. The timer went up and it changed to the next picture and Riku snorted. He was talking to a tall, voluminous blue haired woman. She looked amused and his face was all scrunched up in an animated way. Did he work at a bar as well? He looked at his hands and noticed he was writing notes. The next picture came up and it was captioned 'someone's feathers are ruffled' Sora's face was red and contorted showing frustration and embarrassment. The last picture was a close up of Roxas' face and he looked shocked. The caption wrote 'they used to knock boots!'

Riku exited out of the app and sighed. He was right, Sora didn't have special feelings for him; the guy was straight. The silveret remembered that Sora did say he had a wife before too. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Riku had almost everything he needed for the night, he went to the alcohol aisle, he subconsciously scanned the prices of each liquor with little interest until he made it to the end where the Blood13 was stored. Riku stared at the synthetic blood pensively, he remembered Sora like B+ and picked out a six pack accordingly. 

While he was heading to checkout he noticed a familiar face, but did not acknowledge them. The boy had been missing for about ten years and Riku knew he would never come home. The ghost still hasn’t accepted his death and couldn’t move on. He was always looking for his mother, but she moved away about two years ago. He checked out quickly and made his way out.

-Moon River-

(Sora) 

The sun set and the moon had risen, he stretched his limbs and cracked his back. He was gonna see Riku tonight.

“That asshole never messages me back.” Roxas checked his phone looking agitated. 

“Well, you did try to eat him.” Sora said in a matter of fact tone.

Roxas waved him off. “That was in the past.” Riku always texted Sora back. The brunet felt his lips curl up into a prideful smirk. 

He texted Riku he was on his way over and got ready. He was greeted by Alice as he went into the bathroom to take a hot shower. The warmth reminded him of Riku’s warm body, he shamelessly tried to imagine what Riku would look like naked and his fangs poked out just at the thought. Sora quickly cleaned himself and got dressed. He called Aqua to let her know he wasn’t going to be available today but to keep him updated via text.

He was so excited to see the human his feet could barely stay on the ground. The gift Sora had was heavily influenced by his emotions. When he didn't feel the need to really check himself he would allow it to flow freely. 

"Master, is there anything you would like me to-" she let out a squeal of surprise when Sora turned his head to answer her conversation. Her hands quickly clamped her mouth and she took a ragged breath. "Oh, I'm so sorry you startled me!" He closed his eyes and hand to dull their glow, it scared humans, even his own daughter. He wished it wasn't so taxing on him to force his eyes to look normal. He clumsily, by vampire standards, landed on the ground. 

"I'm sorry Alice." He said cordially. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I don't have anything at the moment I need you to do, but thank you for asking." He made his way to the front door and opened it, before he left, he hollered a parting message to Roxas. "Don't eat anyone, we're still testing humans. I don't care how hungry you are-!" 

"Okay mom!" Roxas sneered, not even bothering to lift his eyes from his phone. Sora went over and ruffled Roxas' hair lovingly. "Be good." The sheriff smiled when he noticed a soft blush on the blonde's face. 

Sora closed the door and flew to the base of the mountain where he would see his human. The night was clear, the moon was starting to wane and the stars sparkled. The crickets and bullfrogs sang their nightly tune while a hoot from an owl sounded off deep into the mountains. Kairi told him several things about her caretaker. Riku was twenty eight, and he dropped out of college. She thought it was odd such a bright young man like him would drop out, and it wasn't because of drugs or because he was failing his classes, he actually had straight A's. When she prodded, Riku shut down on her, she could see in his mind something happened at the college, something violent. Riku did not want to think about it. Kairi didn't bother to press, she herself had many things in her life she preferred to keep locked up in a chest and thrown into the ocean to never be seen again… there were many things Sora never wanted to speak about himself. Riku was different, neither Kairi nor he could make heads or tails of what Riku was. He had magic in him, a gift too, but according to his daughter he tried his best to ignore it. This explained why Sora and Roxas wanted to bite him so badly..creatures of magic origins were attracted to other creatures of magic. 

Riku’s lights were on in his home, it was like a beacon of warmth and temptation. He landed gracefully a few steps away from the front porch and made sure he looked decent and amicable. He opened the screen door and knocked on the heavier door and waited for the human to answer. Kida barked at the door happily, while Riku made his way towards the door.

“Hey.” Riku answered the door, instead of using the door to protect his body, he opened the door fully, exposing himself. He was wearing a long sleeved, dark blue henley and naturally ripped jeans and worn black Nikes. His silver hair seemed to glow like starlight in the moonlight. Sora internally swooned.

“Hey.” Sora smiled, he didn’t show his teeth, his fangs were gonna show. He hated the fact it was easy to see when vampires were aroused.

“Would you like something to drink?” Riku asked like any decent host would. Sora definitely wanted something to drink, but what he wanted was not something Riku wouldn't provide him.

“Yes, please.” Riku walked back into his house towards his kitchen and paused halfway. 

“Oh, right,” His face flushed, forgetting Sora couldn’t pass the threshold. “Come in.”

Sora looked around the living room and noticed he had records and a record player. Sora glided his way to the records and proceeded to pilfer through them. Kida yipped at him for attention and Sora gave into her demands and petted her head absentmindedly. Most of the records Riku had were from artists he enjoyed himself; many of them he got to see in concert back in their hayday. His ears perked to listen to what Riku was doing into the kitchen. He was putting a bottle in the microwave. 

“I hope I’m not being too invasive, but you and I have the same taste in music.” Sora admired a Fleetwood Mac album. 

“You can play something if you want.” Riku's voice echoed through his home.

Sora took Riku up on his offer and played the Rumours album. He moved the needle to play Dreams. Riku reappeared with a hot bottle of Blood13 in one hand and a bottle of Heineken in the other. Sora took the blood offered to him and sipped it, he didn’t want to inhale it in front of Riku like he wanted to. Docile behavior was the best way to disarm a human, he used this strategy alot when he went hunting. 

There was an awkward silence between the two men, so Sora decided to break it with something they both have in common. 

“How has Kairi been?” Sora started. He was so busy working on his case and couldn’t visit her, though he did call her to check up on her.

Riku took a drink from his beer before speaking. “She’s doing fine, according to her doctor, as far along her cancer is, she looks great. She tried to pick a fight with one of the other patients there over some pudding." Riku grinned remembering Kairi's hotheadedness. "If it wasn't my job to stop her, I would've put my money on her."

Sora broke out into a grin. "She was always hard headed like that. Sweet as can be but then if you took something she thought was hers, all hell would break loose. I've had to apologize to several mothers when Kairi was little because she wouldn't take some boy's shit and she beat the hell out of them." 

"Had a little wild child on your hands?" Riku smirked.

"You have no idea." Sora laughed. Riku really didn't have any idea how wild a half fae child could be. She could cause rolling blackouts with a tantrum.

"Speaking of wild children," Sora could see where Riku was going and a half smirk grew on his face. Riku pulled up his phone to show a wall of texts and pictures. "How did baby fangs get my number?" Riku mused.

Sora scratched the back of his head and averted his gaze. "I was working and he was just so damn bored he kept on bugging me for your number." 

"Oh, doing your 'vampire shit'?" Riku smirked at him, without intention the silveret bit his lower lip. If Sora's heart could beat it would be banging out if his chest. Sora could see the alcohol already starting to red the human's cheeks. 

"Yeah." The vampire wondered if the human was going to prod. Sora downed more of his blood to stave off his hunger, but of course it could only provide his nutritional needs, it was no substitute for his more primal needs. "So, do anything fun on your day off?" 

"Nothing much, just mostly cleaned and ran errands. The damndest thing keeps on happening," he paused.

"Oh?" Sora inquired.

"Something keeps on tearing up my rose bushes! Just out of nowhere." A pang of guilt shot through the vampire, he silently apologized to Riku and promised him a whole rose garden once he had dealt with Marluxia fully. 

"That's awful. I'm sorry to hear that. It was probably a deer." Sora hated lying, the only thing he was sorry about was destroying property that he obviously took pride in. He would tear up a forest if that was necessary to keep him safe from his maker's most trusted intelligents. 

Kida whined and scratched at the front door pitifully. Riku finished his drink before Sora and made his way to open the door so the dog could do its business, after using the bathroom she happily trotted back in, the silveret paused before closing it. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

Sora smiled and nodded. 

-Moon River- 

(Riku) 

He couldn’t tell if this infatuation he had was from the blood or if it was genuine.. But it was so easy to talk to Sora. It was like he had known the vampire his whole life, and currently, he was brought to tears laughing at Sora’s stories.

“How the hell did you end up there?” Riku was red in the face and hunched over trying to catch his breath. Apparently, Sora was a bit of a party animal before he got married.

Sora was grinning ear. “I have no idea, all I remember was I was drinking with my friends the night before at this ridiculously rich dude’s mansion, and then when I woke up in the morning, I was in a chandelier getting my ass poked by a pole to make sure I wasn’t dead! I have no idea how the fuck I got up there, there was no way I could have jumped into it or hell, there was no way to climb up there! I never blacked out like that before.”

“You know, I’ve had friends wake up from a drunken stupor on a church roof, and I’ve fought death in the middle of a cornfield, but chandelier is a first for me.” Riku snorted. “So, I have to ask, can vampires get drunk?” 

Sora shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t drink alcohol and get drunk; however, if I drink from a highly inebriated person, then I can get drunk, it’s the same with drugs.”

“Is that so?” Riku chuckled. “Do that often?” 

“I’m gonna be frank with you, I don’t remember the sixties. At all. I went hard with the ‘free love’ movement, my daughter was busy raising kids, and I had a lot of free time.” Riku honestly had a hard time seeing Sora in hippie garb marauding around tripping on LSD laced blood.

“So, is there anything special you can do as a vampire? Can you fly? Turn into a bat?” Sora doubled over and laughed when Riku mentioned the bat part.

Sora wiped away a tear with his finger, it looked dark in the moonlight, was it blood? “No, no vampire can turn into a bat, but I can fly.” Sora offered his hand to Riku. “Would you like to see for yourself?” 

Riku raised his brow. “You serious?” 

“I promise I won’t drop you.” Sora smirked

“How are you gonna lift my ass up? I’m almost twice your size.” Riku teased.

“Do you have reason not to trust me?” 

Riku pursed his lips and scrutinized Sora for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and said fuck it before offering his hand to the vampire. “As long as you don’t drop me.” 

When Sora said he was gonna fly with him.. He didn’t think he was going to be held bridal style. He was strong for a pipsqueak. “I’m not gonna lie, I feel slightly emasculated.”

Sora snorted, Riku could swear his eyes were glowing, maybe it was how the moonlight was hitting them? “Sorry, it just makes the lift off easier. I promise a slightly bruised ego will be worth it.” Sora’s voice was a bit more huskey as he leaned closer. Riku felt his cheeks flush, he wanted to pull him into a searing kiss. There was a slight relief and disappointment when he realized Sora was leaning close because he was bending his knees, with one gentle push, they were in the air. The silveret didn’t even register they were flying until he saw the treetops and the soft glow of homes in the distance. 

“Holy shit.” He couldn’t believe it. Riku wrapped an arm around Sora’s shoulders so he could twist and turn and gawk at the scenery. “This is amazing!” The main part of Twilight Town was nestled in the valley almost hidden away, most of the townspeople were asleep by now. He could see the mountains more clearly in the sky and admired their dominance and beauty. The stars seemed even clearer up there too. Riku turned to look at Sora in the moonlight but was surprised by the sight. Glowing blue eyes stared at the scenery. Riku really wasn't seeing things, they actually glowed!

"They really do glow." Riku mumbled, too astonished to speak up at a more auditable level. What happened next took the silveret by surprise. The vampire seemed to shrink into himself and scrunched his face up and glued his eyes shut like he wasn't supposed to show that. Sora's leveled flight pattern became wobbly and they dropped several feet. Riku clung onto the vampire for dear life before the brunet was able to control it decently again.

"I'm sorry! I hope I didn't scare you!" He opened his eyes again, almost painfully, and they were the normal, non glowing blue. 

"Are you okay?" Riku asked with a bewildered expression on his face.

"I am fine." Sora choked out.

"Does.. does it hurt you to keep your eyes from glowing?" Riku prodded.

"It's…. Taxing on my strength… but people get scared when they see my eyes; they find them unnerving." Riku's heart lurched and he wanted to give the vampire a hug. "Since I'm still young for a vampire my gifts can take a toll on me and I'll need more blood if I use them for prolonged times… and sometimes I slip like now." 

"Well," Riku paused for a moment, hoping he wasn't crossing a line. "You don't have to hide yourself like that around me… besides I think they look pretty when they glow." Riku made himself look Sora in the eyes to prove the point. He didn't want the vampire to be in pain just for something cosmetic. 

Sora's reaction was adorable, even with the hindrance of the pale moonlight the silveret could see that the vampire was as red as a tomato. "A-are you sure?" He asked timidly. Riku wanted to laugh, how could such a powerful being act so timid, and bashful? 

Riku nodded. "Of course." He wanted to cradle the vampire's face in his hands, but he refrained himself. Sora nodded and his eyes started to glow again, the vampire's whole body seemed to relax more. 

"Feel better?" Riku grinned. 

"Oh my God, yes." He sighed happily. 

"So, can you do any more cool shit?" 

Sora gave him a toothy grin and saw Sora's fangs for the first time, Riku was starting to think he didn't have them. Even with fangs and glowing eyes, there were no alarm bells going off in his head like they were before. Was he under a spell? He guessed he wouldn't really know until the blood ran its course through his body. The silveret took note that the air was becoming chilly, he thought he was hallucinating until he felt a snowflake melt on his nose. Snowflakes started to softly pelt their bodies. Why was it snowing in the middle of summer? Then it hit him. "Are you doing this?" He asked the vampire incredulously. 

“I can manipulate the air, that’s why flying is so easy for me; I can even make storms if I have enough blood.” He puffed his chest in a prideful way. Riku held his hand and a small pile of snow started to fill his palm, he closed it and formed a small, icy snowball. “Wow.” Riku admired the pure magic in the air. 

Sora took Riku to secret nooks and crannies hidden in the forest, to be honest Riku didn’t want this night to end. They landed by the waterfall, Riku was in the middle of telling the vampire a funny story when Sora became still, he wasn’t even breathing. His eyes narrowed as he gazed into the darkness, his eyes flickered back to Riku. “ I need to get you home.” 

Riku chuckled nervously. “Aren’t you the toughest thing on the mountain?” He could feel it, the wrongness emanating from the forest. The bugs became quiet in its wake.

“ You would be safer at home.” Sora pulled out his phone, his fingers were a blur on the touchscreen before he sent a message. Sora quickly threw the taller man over his shoulder before darting up into the air. Riku felt a chill shoot down his spine when he heard an animal scream in agony in the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around! I hope you guy are enjoying the story so far!


	5. Dead Man's Party

-Moon River-

(Riku)

They were moving quickly.. way too quickly.

"Dude, you need to slow down or I'm gonna barf." Riku heaved. He was doing his best to keep his beer down along with his dinner. 

Sora complied and slowed down smoothly and offered the human an apology. "Sorry, it's just not safe down there right now." The vampire maneuvered Riku to a more comfortable position, making him feel less like hunted meat and more like a cradled package.

"What's down there?" Riku's morbid curiosity got the best of him.

Sora's face contorted like a child who had to admit to wrongdoing before he huffed, whatever was on his mind he resolved to say it. "Vampires, um, usually don't get sick…if we do, it's usually something fixable like silver poisoning, as long as you have a maker or a sibling of course. I wouldn't be able to help Roxas if he got that though.." he trailed off before remembering that he had to finish his explanation. "But this certain illness, there is no way to reverse it or treat it, once you have it, you're a goner… it eats away at you until you are nothing more than walking bone and mush. Anyone with a shred of humanity or just common sense in general would just stake them before they get bad."

"That sounds awful… but walking bones can't be too dangerous, right?" They would be weak, right? 

Sora shook his head and chuckled. "They can be very dangerous. The Decay may rot a vampire to the bone, but they try to feed to try to heal themselves, it works for the early stages..but not for too long, desperation takes over and they'll try to eat anything or anyone. Humans and animals are just easier to catch." 

Riku felt a chill in his core. "They'll try to eat other vampires?" The idea of a vampire being something else's prey seemed almost comical to him.

"Yup, usually once their brains become total mush they'll die because they stay up and meet the sun… but that could take a few months, and a lot of things can be devoured by that time." 

They descended down by Riku's front porch, but Riku took notice of a person there waiting for them. The blond vampire was there casually sitting on the front porch steps with a bored expression on his face. Riku absentmindedly clung to Sora, his nails dug into the brunet's clothes. Riku felt his heart start to pound out of fear. 

Was this all a trap?

Sora started marching him towards the blond and Riku started to squirm, trying to free himself in vain from the vampire's grip. He felt like a cornered animal. Sora kept a firm grip on him. Roxas stood up and started towards the two. 

"Let go of me. Now." Riku snarled. 

The brunet vampire furrowed his brows in confusion. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked innocently but gently put Riku on his feet. Before the silveret could utter another word there was a phone in his face.

"Why won't you message me back!?" Roxas huffed. "I send you gold and I don't even get a single message back!?" 

Riku stared at the blond completely gobsmacked. Behind him Riku heard a distinctive snort of laughter, the older vampire getting a good chuckle at the baby vampire's childish behavior. 

"You tried to eat me!" Riku barked.

Roxas rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders in an exasperated manner, like it was such an inconvenience to him. "Whatever, I'm sorry I tried to eat you!" 

Sora started to usher Riku to his front door. "Look, I brought Roxas here as extra protection. He won't come into your home, he'll simply be guarding it until I take care of the mess in the mountains. Right, Roxas?" Sora beamed at the blond who simply nodded his head unenthusiastically. 

As they entered the threshold of the home Riku felt a sense of security, but it quickly washed away when he remembered how the blond got into his house in the first place. "How do I know he's not gonna do that hypnosis thing again?"

"Oh, glamouring? He's not very good at it, so if you wear some sunglasses you should be alright." That sounded like a load of bullshit. Riku looked at the vampire unimpressed. "Right." His response was heavily drizzled with sarcasm. Sora simply shrugged. The vampire paused for a moment before giving Riku an apologetic smile. “I have to go now, I’ll be back soon.” 

Without thinking, Riku’s hand went to the vampire’s shoulder and gave it a meaningful squeeze. “Be careful out there.”

The vampire’s cool hand went up and patted the human’s outstretched hand before gently removing it, but he held it and gave a reassuring squeeze. In a blink of an eye, he was gone. The home was silent with the exception for a few creaks and groans from the house settling. Riku crept towards the living room window and peeped through his curtains. Roxas sitting on the porch almost as still as the night itself. Riku opened his heavy front door, leaving the screen door locked. Riku sighed.

“Would you like something to drink?” Riku asked the baby vampire.

“Unless you’re offering me your neck, I’m not interested. That fake blood is gross.” Roxas yawned. “I don’t know how Sora stomachs that shit.” 

Thunder started to rumble in the distance and the air was becoming charged. It wasn’t supposed to rain tonight. 

“Sounds like someone is finally stretching their legs.” Roxas stretched lazily. 

“Is that really Sora?” Lightning struck the mountains and a loud crackle echoed in the air.

“Yup, when it comes to gifts he hit the jackpot.” 

“Do you have a gift?”

Roxas nodded his head. “ My gift isn’t as flashy, but it's practical. I have a high tolerance against silver, which comes in handy.” 

Riku hummed in acknowledgment and watched the lightshow Sora was making fighting whatever was out there.

“He’s totally showing off for ya.” Roxas snorted.

Riku raised his brow at the vampire, anticipation growing. “Is that so?” 

“Yeah, he usually just stakes them quickly so he doesn’t use too much energy.” Roxas paused for a moment and his nose scrunched up. “ More and more are showing up lately, I can’t believe there is one way out here.” 

“Is this a part of his job, or something?” 

“In a way, yeah. He’s kinda the head honcho of this area.” 

Roxas decided to go down the rabbit hole of vampire politics and the basics every vampire should know. Riku found it quite fascinating as well as primeval. He guessed since they lived so long, they didn't really see the need to change that many things. Then, the topic of how vampires were made came to a head. 

"So, how were you turned?" Riku asked. He knew the blond disappeared after a party, but not much else. "If that's okay to ask." He quickly added.

Roxas kept his eyes on the stars and heaved an unnecessary breath. "Well, every turning involves death. Mine's no different. I remember I was out at my first highschool party. I was so excited that I was dressed and ready hours before I was to be picked up. I asked Xion to go with me, but she had to work that night… thank God she did." Roxas let out a hollow chuckle. "I wonder if she would've been turned, too?"

"Wouldn't she be a vampire if she did?" Riku asked.

Roxas shook his head. "No, not exactly. You see, not every person a vampire tries to turn exactly.. makes it, ya know?"

"Oh." Riku uttered, deflated.

" But, anyway, I go to this party and by the time I get there, the party is in full swing and everyone is totally shitfaced. Beer cans and red cups littered the floor, food thrown on the walls, music shook the walls; everything I expected it to be. I had so much fun! I danced with pretty girls and got my first kiss, though I didn't tell her that. I was praying she just thought I was sloppy drunk and not just some inexperienced loser. Everyone was chased out because the neighbors called the police. I bolted out and jumped into the nearest car making its way down the driveway, I couldn't go to jail, my future career would see that!.... Don't have to worry about that now though... We were going down this country road. We.. didn't want to be found by the cops, the driver was drinking beer as he drove. We were all so preoccupied trying not to get caught we didn't notice the spike strip… we were trapped in the middle of nowhere, deep in the valley, no cell phone service. We were so shitfaced we didn't notice that we were getting snatched one by one...until there were only three left, then we started panicking.. and that just excited the vampires. They took us deep into the mountainside, I watched as they played with us and tormented us.. one of the vampires had their way with one of the girls before he drained her. There was one recording it all with some specialized camera. They let me run for a bit, always nipping at my heels before giving me enough distance to think I was gonna survive. I ran until I couldn't anymore. When they bit me, it hurt so much..I was so scared... all I could do was stupidly cry for my mom." Riku's heart lurched in his chest and he held back tears. That poor boy…

"Once I and the rest of the partiers were drained they gave us some of their blood. Then they threw us into a hole and buried us. After three days I woke up and clawed my way to the surface… I was the only one who rose out of the ten people they murdered." A tear fell from his eye. "All my friends were dead, and I woke up underneath their corpses…." Roxas quickly wiped away his tear with the back of his hand roughly and tried to stop himself from sniffling. "As soon as I broke through to the surface, the vampires threw silver on me and tied me up. They were worried they killed all of us for nothing, but I rose and that was enough. They left me out there, bound and unaware of what happened to me or what I was. They left a camera there to record me, screaming and crying for help.. then the sun started to rise and I knew why they were recording me. Somehow, my squawking caught the attention of a certain vampire patrolling his area… I'm lucky he's so fond of the forest. Sora took me under his wing, and even though he can annoy the ever loving shit out of me with his nagging, I'm glad it was him… anyone else would've left me there."

"Why would they leave you there if they could help you!?" Riku asked, completely horrified.

"Newborn vampires are vicious, hungry and almost uncontrollable without a maker. We're dangerous enough as it is with a maker. My maker abandoned me… I was simply more trouble then I was worth." Roxas stated. 

"I'm so sorry that happened to you.." Riku instinctively went to open the door to hug the baby vampire, but his instincts kicked in again and made sure he was firmly planted in his spot, away from the predator sitting outside on his front porch.

"I'm okay, there's nothing I can do about it now." 

There was a pregnant pause before Riku spoke again. "So, how was Sora turned?" 

Roxas snorted. "Good luck finding that one out. Sora keeps a tight lip on how he was turned. From what I heard, it was not pretty.. at all. I do know that when Sora did rise as a vampire, he caused some serious damage and I'm not talking structurally." 

Riku scrunched up his face in disbelief, the idea of Sora being violent just didn't compute in Riku's brain. 

"All newborns are vicious killing machines… every single one of them." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around! I hope you like the story so far!


	6. Suspicious Minds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! thanks for reading my fanfic! I hope you like it so far, I would love to hear your thoughts on it!

-Moon River-

(Riku)

Sora returned after an hour or so, he looked satisfied but exhausted. He flopped onto the wooden porch next to Roxas. 

“Had some fun out there, sheriff?” Roxas grinned, Sora simply groaned in response.

Riku felt confident enough to go out once again with two hot bottles of blood hand and hand. He gently rested one of the bottles on Sora’s forehead. 

“Bottoms up.” Riku mumbled. Sora gave Riku a lopsided smile before graciously taking the bottle and chugging it.

“Bet you wish Riku offered himself instead.” Roxas teased with a sneer. After Sora finished his blood, he chucked the bottle at Roxas’ head. The blond giggled and dodged it with little effort. Sora grumbled something under his breath and took the other bottle and chugged it down as well.

“So, how many were out there?” Riku asked.

Sora lips came off the bottle with a pop. “One, but he was still relatively fresh. Sorry, They munched on more critters than I thought.”

“Well, as long as it was just _critters_.” Riku hadn’t seen someone with such a young face call animals critters in a long time; it would be something his grandpa would say.

Throughout the night, Riku noticed Sora’s age as he spoke. Some of his similes and metaphors went over both his and Roxas’ heads. Sora opened up about his life as a human. Riku was surprised he was older than he initially thought. Riku thought he had to have died when he was twenty three at most because he had his daughter at age twenty and he had pictures of him and her in the daylight as a little girl. 

“You were twenty seven when you died?” Roxas said shocked. “You barely look twenty!”

Sora scratched his chin in an inquisitively. “Well, I did look older with my facial hair.. But I shaved it all off before I turned…” He trailed off. “Though, it was pretty scraggly when I was a jailbird.”

“You’re just full of surprises, eh?” Riku grabbed more beer and blood as they continued their conversation late into the night. 

“It was The Great Depression- had to make money somehow. Had a kid to feed, and smuggling beer into the country was good money. I was lucky I had good people in my life to help keep my head and Kairi’s above water.” 

“So, dad was an illiterate jailbird and the daughter graduated from an Ivy league university.. Makes sense.” Roxas snorted. “She must have gotten it from her mom.” 

Sora nodded his head. “She was a crafty Minx...sometimes _too_ crafty for her own good. She did not handle being behind iron bars well. Luckily, I had a few tricks up my sleeve.” Sora wiggled his hand up one of his baggy sleeves , garnishing his statement. 

"You sew some wild tales there, Sora. Someone might think you're embellishing the truth." Riku raised his brow at the vampire.

"Shit, I ain't even told ya the real weird shit yet and you're already thinking I'm stretching the truth? You wound me." Sora placed his hand over his heart and sighed dramatically. 

Roxas' eyes locked to the horizon and stretched before tapping Sora's leg. "Sun is gonna come up soon."

Riku checked his phone and lo and behold, it was five thirty in the morning. They talked all damn night. 

"I guess it's time for us to take our leave. Thanks for having us over Riku." Sora grinned at the human and Riku felt heat rising to his cheeks. The brunet's grin was contagious and Riku felt his lips form a grin as well. He wished the vampire could stay longer. 

With a goodbye the vampires disappeared into the night. Riku turned in for the night, thankful that he only had to work at the bar in the evening. As he got underneath his sheets the sun started to peak over the mountainside, and with little effort he fell into a deep sleep. He dreamed of long, languid kisses and soft glowing blue eyes.

In the morning, Riku checked his garden. His rose bushes were destroyed once again.

  
-Moon River- 

  
For the past week Sora had made it a point to meet up with Riku at least once before going to work. Riku would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the attention. The vampire would come in and have one bottle of B+ Blood13 and Riku would have his break with him. Xion and Axel would come over when they could and say hi as well. Tifa would keep her distance and he didn’t really blame her, but he felt like if she had a conversation with him, she would adore him. Patrons of the bar seemed like they were starting to get used to the vampire coming in nightly to the point they didn’t bother to look over when he was being seated. 

Today, it was the same routine until Sora left. Sheriff Leonhart walked into the bar with Officer Strife following behind and they both looked haggard. Sheriff Squall Leonhart was a tall, muscular man with stormy blue eyes and feathered brown hair. He had a distinctive scar going across his face that he got from a perp when he was still a beat cop. He was in his mid thirties and if you looked hard enough, there was graying peppering his locks. Officer Cloud Strife was younger, about a year older than Riku himself. They went to highschool together. Cloud was a built man as well but with wild blond hair that stuck up like a Chocobo bird's, his blue eyes were bright and piercing. They dragged their feet to a booth in Riku’s area, the silveret gave them a moment to settle before asking for their order. Both men ordered a pitcher and a shot of Jack. 

Riku quickly got their order and he decided to pry as he set down the beer. “Is everything okay?”

Sheriff Leonhart’s face stayed stoic and unreadable, but Strife decided he was the one who would speak up. “Rangers found something pretty nasty out in the mountains today.” Strife downed some of his cold beer before speaking up again. Riku figured they found some mangled animals, but they found something more than that. “These campers were ripped to shreds.. I’ve never seen an animal be able to do that. They had their blood drained and had chunks of their flesh eaten. It looked like whatever attacked them tried to suck the bone marrow out of whatever bones it could get its hands on.” 

Riku felt his blood chill. “What the hell could do that?” He knew exactly what could do that.

“Something strong.” Officer Leonhart stated. The small town sheriff drummed his fingers on the cheaply made wooden table. “The only thing around here that would be strong enough to possibly do that would be that vampire that just blew into town.. Not to mention their blood was drained out of them.”

“I thought that vampires only drank blood; they don’t eat, right?” Strife added a counterargument.

Sheriff gave his fellow officer an unimpressed glance. “We don’t know if that’s one hundred percent accurate.” Leonhart’s eyes moved over to the waiter. “I heard that the vampire likes to come around when you are working, Riku. What is your relationship with it?”

“He’s my friend.” He didn’t appreciate the sheriff calling Sora an ‘it’.

“Is that all you two are?” Leonhart raised his brow at the waiter suspiciously. 

“Yes.” Riku said steely.

Leonhart pressed his glass to his lips but kept his hard gaze. “ Being a waiter in a small town doesn’t exactly bring in alot of cash. I heard vampires will pay a good amount of money for something fresh-” 

Riku slammed his orderbook on the table. “Squall cut the shit!” Riku only called him by his first name to show how serious he was. He pulled back his hair to expose his long, pale, umarred neck. “I don’t appreciate being asked if I’m some kind of blood whore, especially from you!” He turned his head to the hostess. “Xion, can you take care of this table for me? I need to help Axel out in the kitchen!" He pointed his finger at the officer. "Cloud, you have a good day.” Riku stomped off to find the cook to bitch.

Axel was exiting the walk-in freezer when he heard Riku grumbling under his breath and saw him demolishing his beautiful lettuce with a dull knife.

“Boy, you best stop destroying my lettuce!” Axel took the knife out of the waiter’s hand and handed him a wooden mallet. “Beat some meat instead; _tenderize_ it, don't squash it!” Axel leaned against the counter. “So, what’s with the pissy mood? You got to see your favorite customer today, you should be on cloud nine.” 

Riku smacked the meat hard before he sucked his teeth and spilled the beans. “The forest rangers found a bunch of dead campers in the mountains, and the police think Sora did it.” 

“Did he?” Axel asked.

“No.” The way Sora downed those bottles of blood and the noise that animal made in the forest.. He didn’t have a doubt in his mind that Sora was innocent. The only thing Sora was guilty of was lying about what was slaughtered by the infected vampire, and he was going to talk to him about it.

Axel pursed his lips and furrowed his brows, his mind reeling. “Then.. What the hell did?” 

Riku looked around before walking up to Axel and whispered in his ear. “There are more vampires out here… Some are very sick and very hungry.” 

Axel took a step back, his eyes didn’t leave the floor. He softly swore under his breath. “ Were.. they drained and chewed up a bit?”

Riku nodded his head.

“This is bad.” Axel murmured. "How many?"

"Just one that I know of." 

"Is it still alive?"

"No."

Xion and Ariel dropped off a couple of orders and both men worked like cogs in a machine dropping fries and cooking burgers. 

"Hey, can I drop by your house after work tonight? I wanna look at a few things." Axel asked in between orders.

"I don't see why not. You don't have to ask to come over, you're practically family." Riku replied not bothering to tear his eyes away from cooking. 

They worked on while the rush continued. Dishes went flying out of the kitchen thanks to the waiter's helping hand. After about a half an hour or so, the dinner rush died down and the men were able to stop, take a breath and get themselves something to drink. As Riku downed his second glass of water, Officer Strife approached the kitchen window. 

"What, Cloud?" Riku snipped.

Cloud put his hands up feigning innocence. "Look, I'm sorry Leon was being a butthead to ya. He's been out there all day looking at that nastiness. I saw it and about contaminated some evidence with my puke. I don't think it was your vampire friend simply because he's trying to get involved with the community...however the evidence is pretty damning."

Riku glowered at the blond man before huffing. "What evidence do you have other than a strong creature? Who's to say it wasn't something else? If vampires are real, shit, imagine what else is running around out there we don't think exists?"

Cloud pondered that thought for less than a moment. "That could be a possibility. But until we get more information, the vampire is the prime suspect." 

“Cloud!” A feminine voice boomed outside of the kitchen, Cloud flinched knowing full well who it was. Tifa appeared next to Cloud, there was a foreboding dominance about the woman. “ Could you try not to bother my employees when they are not on the clock?” Though, she technically didn’t own the bar, she pretty much ran the whole thing. 

“Sorry, Tif, I just-” 

“ _I just_ \- I’m just harassing some innocent people while they're working!” She placed her hands on his shoulder and guided him towards the dining area. “Leave them be, you got what you needed from them.” 

Tifa watched as the officer made his way back to his table before turning her attention to the two men. “ Sorry, I didn’t catch him sooner.” 

“It’s okay, it's not like he wasn’t doing anything harmful.” Riku waved it off. 

“Still.” She paused.“ I heard what they found was pretty brutal. Not to mention your, um, friend is really trying to be a part of the community. Something like him being a prime suspect of a brutal mass murder.. No one would ever trust him again.” She said quietly, almost a whisper. “And people would treat you differently for talking to him.” 

“More than they already do?” Riku chuckled lightly. 

Tifa looked away but nodded her head. “People are fickle.”

“Well, it’s a good thing the vampire is innocent.” Axel draped his arm over Riku’s shoulder in an assuring manner. “He doesn’t seem like the type to murder people anyway.” 

Roxas’ words echoed in the waiter’s head.

_All newborns are vicious killing machines… every single one of them._

Sora wasn’t a newborn anymore.. He was pretty sure he wasn’t. How many people had Sora murdered in his lifetime?

  
-Moon River- 

After a long, grueling night Axel and Riku were making their way to Riku's home. They made a pitstop over by Axel's for a few questionable things, but he didn't prod too much. Axel was into that occult stuff and Riku didn't get it too much, but it kept him out of trouble so he couldn't really complain about the unorthodox nature of it. 

"Jesus dude, how much shit did you bring? I think you forgot the kitchen at home." Riku teased. 

"I'm just preparing for anything, boo." Axel pulled out a candle and inspected it. " This could take a while, you mind if I crash over for the night?" 

"Of course." Riku smiled.

Axel playfully snuggled his shoulder into Riku's. "Oh my, I'm so lucky, I get to snuggle up in a warm bed with a hunk." Axel batted his eyes with a shit eating grin growing on his face. Riku snorted and pushed the red headed man away. "Sounds like a nightmare to me." Riku teased back.  
As they approached the house they both noticed that there was someone sitting on the porch. Riku grinned, he was pretty sure it was Sora waiting to see him, maybe he wanted to say hi before he continued working on his case. Axel’s eyes narrowed before they widened with recognition. 

“Roxas?”


	7. Shelter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruh, I haven't been able to do anything creative as of late holy shit! But thanks for sticking around!

  
-Moon River-

  
(Kairi) 

_“Daddy, are you okay?” Kairi’s legs stumbled towards her dad’s bedside. She climbed up the large, ornate bed that engulfed her father in large, heavy blankets. Daddy opened his arms to her and she tumbled onto his chest. His embrace was warm and comforting like always._

_“Hey, Kairi-cat. I’m okay, just a little under the weather.” He kissed the crown of her head._

_The house doctor was putting away his supplies. She remembered he was referred to as Dr. Sweet. He was a big, dark man with a warm and inviting personality._

_“Hello, little miss, your daddy will be juust fine. He just needs to eat properly and rest. “ the doctor's voice matched his appearance; big and warm. Kairi smiled at the large man, and he returned one to her. He looked over at her dad. “I don’t see any signs of internal bleeding or any cuts on your body, your anemia must come from an iron deficiency. You take care of yourself now. Please, call me if your symptoms get worse.”_

_Her dad struggled to sit himself on the bed, especially with the weight of a small child clutching onto him.“Thanks, doc. You have a good day.”_

_“You too.” the doctor waved at the two before leaving the large room Mr. Wutai offered daddy and her to sleep in._

_Kairi looked up to her dad. “Daddy, what’s anemia?”_

_“Anemia is when your body doesn't make enough good blood.”_

_Kairi furrowed her brows. “Why aren’t you making good blood?”_

_“I don’t know, baby bear… but I’m gonna do what I can to get better." Daddy grinned at her and gave her a wink._

_"Then, we can play together more!" Kairi chirped. "The other people that work here won't play with me." She crossed her arms and pouted. They thought of her as a nuisance, and she didn't need them to spell it out to her either, she could hear their thoughts… whether she wanted to or not. She tried her best to keep out of people's minds, but it was so hard to differentiate between thoughts and what was actually being said to her unless she was actually looking at their face directly._

_Daddy ran his fingers through her hair. "They're just busy, baby."_

_"I know." Kairi sighed. Daddy started to have another coughing fit. Ever since they moved into the mansion, her daddy's health started to deteriorate. She quickly went to give him a glass of water. He thanked her and hungrily chugged it down._

_She tried her best to stay out of her daddy's head. He had a lot of sad memories and some were scary. She felt that familiar itch hit her, her daddy's thoughts were too loud to ignore… he was scared. He was trying his best to line up events where he could've gotten hurt but there were holes in his memory. No matter how hard he tried, it was like they were blocked or erased. It usually happened while he was with Yozora, but Yozora would have no reason to hurt him, right? Yozora loved him. He couldn't understand why felt so weak after having sex- her daddy's train of thought was quickly stopped when he realized his daughter was still in the room and his face flushed and he hid his face in his hands._

_"Were you listening?" He asked, his voice was muffled by his hands._

_"No." She lied, but he saw right through her lie. Daddy flopped back down on the bed and groaned from embarrassment. Poor daddy, all the other parents had the freedom of their headspace from their children. She knew there were some things that she wasn't supposed to know. Her daddy did his best to help her curb her power and keep her innocent. Apparently, if the coal mine didn't shut down in their hometown in the mountains, he would've never thought to move into the city with her. So many people, so many thoughts swirling around her. The cacophony would get so bad at times she would have to hide somewhere without people to recuperate._

_"I'm sorry." Kairi murmured._

_"It's not your fault, you just got a.. sensitive gift." He reasoned._

_"It's a curse." Kairi muttered._

_Her father shot up from his lying position and gently but firmly grabbed her shoulders. His eyes were intense. "Nothing about you is a curse. This is just something that is a part of you. You use this gift for your advantage, Kai. Use it to keep you safe." Though he didn't say it out loud, he wanted her to use it to steer away from predators. Men and women who disguise themselves as good people but were monsters who took advantage of the small and weak, he would always believe her, since no one believed him when he was little. He wanted her to use it to have a leg up on the sexist, racist, and classist world they lived in, to never allow someone to treat her like she was inferior. To use it to be kind to those who need it the most. She couldn't fully understand what his words meant until she was older._

_Kairi nodded her head. "Okay." She still thought it was a curse, but at least her dad couldn't read her mind. He smiled at her and kissed her cheek and pulled her into a hug._

_"I love you, baby." She always felt the safest in her dad's embrace._

_"I love you too." She rubbed her face into the crook of her daddy's neck and took in his scent. He smelled like apple cider… and cigarettes. Kairi shot up and narrowed her eyes at her dad._

_"Eww! You've been smoking!" She pinched her nose and curled her lips in disgust._

_"Give your old man a break, I haven't been feeling good." Sora pouted animatedly at his daughter._

_Kairi stuck out her tongue and gagged. She felt her dad start to move underneath her and quickly threw off the sheets. She let out an excited scream and bolted out of the bed. She giggled wildly as she padded down out of the room and down the long hallway in her bare feet. Her father was nipping at her heels. He was laughing behind her but soon the laughing turned into chest wrenching coughs and he collapsed onto his knees. Kairi's laughing and running slowly stopped and she backpedaled to her dad. Mr. Wutai was there already, holding her father in his arms like he was a bride. It must be nighttime now._

_"Are you okay, sunshine? Your heart is about to burst out of your chest." Mr. Wutai cooed at her father._

_"J-just a little out of breath that's all." He wheezed._

_Mr. Wutai was one of the most beautiful men Kairi had ever laid her eyes on. To her childlike eyes he seemed ancient, but he looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties. His eyes were unlike anything she had seen before in her short life! His right eye was a pretty bright blue and his left eye was a pretty dark red. His skin was very pale, and looked even paler against her father's tanned, softly freckled skin caused by years of hard labor. His hair was silver and textured and went down to the nape of his neck and framed his sculpted face well._

_Mr. Wutai rolled his eyes at her father's answer. "Darling, why must you always push yourself? You should be in bed resting."_

_Her daddy grinned at him. "Gotta keep ya on your toes that's all. Besides, Kairi and I've been cooped up all day. We're getting squirrelly."_

_Mr. Wutai smiled at daddy fondly and let his lips rest on top of daddy's head. "Tell you what, you go rest and I'll play with Kairi and make her some dinner." his eyes went to the girl. "Would you be okay with that, Kairi?"_

_She nodded her head and grinned. "Yeah!" She really liked Mr. Wutai, she thought of him as her second father. She quickly went up to the two men and started to prance around excitedly._

_Her father seemed to be pouting, feeling left out of the fun with his two favorite people. Mr. Wutai's lips went to the shell of daddy's ear and he whispered something most people wouldn't be able to pick up, but Kairi had sharp ears. "Don't worry, I'll play with you later tonight." Mr. Wutai purred. Daddy's face became beet red. She didn't get what kind of playing they did, but her daddy seemed a bit wobbly in the morning every time they did play._

_They took daddy back to the room to rest, Mr. Wutai carried her father like he was a precious treasure. He gently laid daddy on the bed and pulled the covers over his body. His fingers brushed the hair away from his face before going down and kissing daddy's lips. His hands cupped her daddy's cheeks, his fingers lingered to give a soft stroke before turning his attention to Kairi. He extended his hand to her. "You hungry?"_

_Kairi nodded her head and took his hand gingerly. Mr. Wutai pulled her up and situated her on his hip. At age seven, usually kids were getting a little too big to be carried around, but she didn't mind with Mr. Wutai, because even with her weight added to the mix, he glided through the halls like he was floating in the air._

_"What do you want to eat today, sweetheart?" He asked._

_"Chicken alfredo!" She answered without skipping a beat._

  
_By nighttime most of the daytime staff was gone and the new shift filtered in, but they made their presence minimal as best.. at least when she was around. There was one in particular that she didn't like, Mr. Marluxia. Mr. Marluxia was quite mean spirited when Mr. Wutai wasn't around. He didn't like her or her daddy at all, he seemed to look at them like they were vermin. So, when he was around she did her best to stay close to Mr. Wutai._

_The kitchen was an oddity here. From what she heard through whispers and gossip among the daytime staff, the kitchen was seldom busy, they didn't even have a full time staff in there except when Mr. Wutai had to throw a soiree. She wondered how Mr. Wutai was able to get such fresh food when it seemed like there wasn't enough food around anywhere to feed anyone. But she kept quiet._

_Mr. Wutai pulled out the ingredients needed to make the sauce and noodles. His hands seemed like a blur how quickly they moved with such dexterity. He placed Kairi on the floor, but she quickly climbed on the counter to be able to talk to Mr. Wutai face to face…. Also her daddy never let her get on the counter like this so she took advantage of Mr. Wutai's indifference to her sitting on his stuff._

_"Mr. Wutai, were you ever married?" She liked asking him questions, especially since it was so hard to read his mind, the best she could usually get was an emotion and she was just fine with that. For some odd reason, even though daddy was really close with Mr. Wutai, he made her promise him to never ever tell him about her gift. She couldn’t understand why, especially since Mr. Wutai wasn’t one to judge. But with one touch, she looked deeper into her father’s mind and she learned Mr. Wutai knew a lot of bad men._

_"I have." Kairi snapped back to the present. His eyes never left his cooking. He was quite used to Kairi's barrage of questions._

_"Did she die too?" Like her momma._

_"Yes."_

_"Did you love her?"_

_"In my own way. She was a kind woman." His answer was unattached. She decided to press on and ask the burning question._

_"Do you love my daddy?"_

_Mr. Wutai paused what he was doing and looked at Kairi. " I do. I love Sora very much."_

_Kairi twiddled her fingers and averted her eyes. "Do you love me, too?"_

_Mr. Wutai put down his coming utensils and swooped Kairi into a hug and kissed her cheek. His kisses felt like he just got in from a cold winter day. "Of course I do, sweetheart. I already think of you as my daughter, if that's okay with you?"_

_Kairi nodded her head and hugged Mr. Wutai back. "I love you, too." She melted into his arms… even if they felt cool to the touch. He placed her back on the counter and kept cooking. Kairi found it strange that Mr. Wutai would never taste the food he cooked. He always had her daddy or her taste it; actually, he did a lot of strange things. No one ever saw him during the daytime, and he would never eat anything in front of anyone; he would drink this wine though, but viscosity reminded her of a thick tomato juice. She wanted to ask him about those strange things, but maybe he was like her, strange with no real explanation. She could read minds and mess with electricity. She caused all the lightbulbs to explode in the mansion during one tantrum and caused a blackout in the city a couple of years ago. Her mind was so preoccupied that she didn't notice the spoon full of sauce being offered to her to taste until she heard a throat being cleared._

  
_-Moon River-_

_Over the next few months her daddy's health got better. He was running around and playing with her again during the daylight, during the night time he had to attend to Mr. Wutai's needs, but he was in bed with her by three in the morning, usually._

_Tonight was different though._

_Kairi woke up from a dead sleep to the crack of lightning and thunder rumbling in the sky. Daddy still wasn't in bed yet, she looked around the room and perked her ears to listen for any movement. The only thing she could hear was the storm outside and the clock ticking._

_She ventured out of the room quietly to go over to Mr. Wutai's room. Maybe daddy fell asleep there? She tiptoed down the long hallway pass the unoccupied rooms to the master chamber, where Mr. Wutai slept. Before she could reach her destination, a door creaked open and out emerged Mr. Wutai cradling something in his arms. She smiled and padded down to greet him but stopped short when she got a closer look at the man and what was in his arms. Her blood ran cold... Mr. Wutai’s lips and chin were covered in blood and he looked like he just saw a ghost, he was as pale as a sheet of paper. He didn’t seem to register that Kairi was there. The bundle in his arms was her father only covered by bloody blankets, his body was limp._

_“Daddy?” she gasped._

_Mr. Wutai’s eyes slowly looked down to see Kairi’s distraught face and his eyes started to become glassy and instead of tears there was blood leaving his eyes and dripping down to his cheeks. His face crumpled and his shoulders hunched forward, he was falling apart seeing the little girl._

_“What’s wrong with my daddy?” Kairi asked. Clearly mortified. What was going on? Tears started to fall down her cheeks. Why wasn’t her daddy moving? She used her extra sense to check to see if her daddy was pulling a prank.. But all she heard was silence coming from where her daddy’s thoughts should be! “What did you do?” She asked barely above a whisper._

_“I didn’t mean to…” Mr. Wutai croaked._

_“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DADDY!” she screeched at him, the lights started to flicker in the hallway erratically, she didn’t care. She wanted answers now! She took a step towards the man, he took a step back. “Why can’t I hear my daddy?” He looked away shamefully. She wasn’t having that. She screamed so loud it made her eardrums pop and she busted all the lights in the hallway. They busted like fireworks and the air became charged to the point the hair on their heads were starting to stand on their own._

_the monster bared his fangs and before she could blink he was right in front of her face and lifted her up to his eyes by the scruff, her sleeves dug into her armpits and she let out a yelp. "Be quiet." He seethed, she quieted but her lower lip wouldn't stop quivering and she couldn't stop the tears and snot from running down her reddened face. She looked down at her father and started to wail. His neck was all bloody and had dark, thick blood coating his mouth. He was so pale, there was no color in his cheeks. His chest did not rise and fall. There was no doubt in her mind. Her daddy was dead._

_"Kairi, I'm going to fix this." He said slowly. "Your daddy will wake up again. I gave him lots of medicine and he'll wake up in three days." She felt something start to wet the front of her dress, she looked down and noticed there was a large wound seeping blood out of his wrist. His arm was shaking with her weight, the monster was very weak. “He’ll just be a little different.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

-Moon River-

She felt a presence in her room and had a hard time opening her eyes.

"Who's there?" She croaked. She heard a creak from weight being shifted on the floor.

"Kairi." She immediately recognized the voice and groaned. 

"What are you doing here?" She asked, not bothering to mask her annoyance.

"I came to check in on you and your father." Yozora stated, ignoring his fae daughter's attitude. 

"Well, here's your update; he ain't here and I'm dying of cancer. No, I do not want to be turned and be a decrepit, but still bangable, old woman for all eternity." She said curtly. 

Yozora let out a soft huff of frustration. "Kairi, please." He pleaded softly. 

"Please what?" She snipped. " Why should I let the vampire who not only _murdered_ my father but also coerced my father into a sham marriage in hopes to win his favor again, have any sort of information!? You've got some balls to come in here!" She growled.

"I know I've made mistakes in the past.." Kairi narrowed her eyes and glowered at the ancient creature. "Let me finish," he raised a finger up with strained patience. “I’ve heard through Marluxia that there is disease running rampant in Sora’s area. He must be quite stressed; especially dealing with Sephiroth’s hands off nature. I would like to help him.” 

“I see right through you.” Kairi sneered. “Underhanded as always, I see.” 

Yozora smiled mischievously. “Old habits die hard, besides, I’ve been wanting to expand my borders for quite some time now.”

Kairi scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Get out. The only thing you’ve done today is raise my blood pressure, and the only thing you are gonna accomplish by ‘helping’ out daddy is piss him off.” 

Yozora opened the window. “Well, he _is_ cute when he’s angry. By the way, I left you a few gifts by your bedside. Goodbye, sweetheart. I love you.” He slipped out the window like he was the breeze himself.

Kairi slumped into her bed and sighed. Her mind reeled back to the night here daddy died for the first time, while Yozora was burying her father’s lifeless body she went back into their room to sob. She looked over to the side where he usually slept and noticed something bulging underneath the bed. She unveiled the bulk and noticed a half packed suitcase. The content inside was his clothes and hers along with some money he scrapped up. It wasn’t until years later that she learned how spooked her father was that night he was killed. He couldn’t remember what exactly he saw, but it chilled him to the core of his being... to the point he knew he had to take Kairi and run.

  
-Moon River-

(Riku)

What the hell was going on?

“Roxas? What is he doing here?” Riku asked himself aloud.

Axel snapped his head at Riku. “You knew he was alive?”

“He’s not alive, at least, not like he used to be.” Riku said solemnly. 

“....I see.” Axel fell silent. 

Before Riku killed the engine, Axel slipped out of the car and made his way to the blond. Riku tried to open his mouth to warn the redhead of the newborn’s bloodlust but Axel barreled towards the young vampire and pulled him into a hug before he could get anything out. Roxas did not protest, infact, he nuzzled his head into the larger man’s chest.

“You’re cold as ice kid.” Axel chuckled. “It’s good to see you again.” 

“I’m sorry I didn’t call.” He heard Roxas' voice crack. “I was scared, I didn’t want to hurt you guys.”

“I’m just glad you are with us. Xion misses you like crazy, why don't you send her a message soon so her heart can stop aching." It sounded like a suggestion, but it was more of an order coming from the older, protective brother whose only family left in the world was his little sister.

"I will." 

Riku allowed the two to talk, Roxas was getting better with his bloodlust by the day, Sora was doing a good job with him. He went to his front door and went to unlock it, but… it was already open. Riku froze. Roxas couldn't get into his house...so.. Who was in there? He hoped it was Sora and it's bad when you pray a vampire broke into your house.

"Roxas, is Sora with you?" He asked.

"Nope, there was a huge update on the case so he's in Radiant Garden tonight." Roxas said not even bothering to turn his head towards Riku leaving the dialogue slightly muffled. 

Anxiety started to seep into his bones, he pulled out his keys and made sure the teeth of them were sticking out between his fingers, ready to strike. He cautiously opened the door and Kida was there with her tail wagging, greeting him. Riku's shoulder visibly relaxed. Maybe he just forgot to lock his door before work? He gave his girl a scratch behind the ears before she bolted out to greet Axel, she even seemed to start to warm up to Roxas, but she still wouldn't let him pet her yet. Riku yawned and decided to be a bad host and go to the bathroom first before offering refreshments. He went down his hall to where his bathroom was (the last door on the right) he didn't even register the light was on in there before he automatically opened the door. He was greeted with a feminine scream and a flash of white. He was gobsmacked with a towel hitting him in the face! Before he could react he had the door slammed in his face as well.

"ROXAS!" Riku boomed. 

He heard Axel giggling outside at Roxas' expense. "You're in trouble."

Riku stomped to his front door and pointed towards the direction of his occupied bathroom. "Who the fuck is that!?"

Roxas had a nervous grin on his face and scratched the back of his head while averting his eyes. "That's Alice.. um, she's… like my lunch? The generator broke out in the cabin and she needs a shower.. and food and somewhere warm to sleep. Sora would've been mad if I didn't take care of her while he was away."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you ask?" He said through gritted teeth.

"You wouldn't have answered anyway." Roxas said without batting an eye. Okay, that was fair. 

He looked down at Kida and pointed his finger at her. "You're a bad guard dog." Kida's tail just wagged faster at the attention. There was a soft padding behind him, he turned his head and saw the small, wet girl… dripping all over his wood floors. 

"I'm terribly sorry about intruding. But it's black as pitch out there and my phone died. I've never been this far out into the country so I didn't exactly pack well." The small girl's voice had a soft english accent. Her wet hair looked like it was a golden blonde, her eyes were big and blue; she could get away with murder just by batting her eyes. He noticed her pretty pale skin and did his best not to frown seeing all the bite marks around her neck just below where a tee shirt could cover it. They looked painful. The bite marks were the most prominent scars on her body. There were faded self harm lines on her wrists as well as track marks on her inner arm from drug abuse. This girl lived a hard life. Riku averted his eyes, he didn't want to give the wrong impression.

"It's fine, I just wish I had a heads up first." He made sure to send Roxas a glare as he spoke. Roxas just held up his phone cockily and waved it around in a way saying ‘you better start answering my messages, asshole.’

While Riku and Roxas were bantering, Axel made his way to his old car he let Riku borrow to get his supplies. As much as he was excited to see the blond boy, he had a job to do. He placed his supplies on the wooden porch.

"So, what exactly are ya doing there Axel?" Riku asked. 

Axel wiped his hands off on his jeans before he spoke.“Well, babe, you’ve been getting a bunch of dangerous visitors as of late and you got monsters in the mountains. As your best friend, I’m gonna give you a protection spell around your house so you can sleep feeling safe.” 

Riku scrutinized the collection of items Axel brought to his house before looking back at his redhead friend. “How?” He asked genuinely.

Axel grinned at his friend. “A witch has their ways.” He winked and started setting his items up for his spell.

“You don’t smell like any witch I’ve ever been around. I don’t smell any magic on ya.” Roxas raised his brow and pointed at Riku. “The only one here that smells like magic here is the himbo and myself.” 

“Well, you obviously haven't been around any decent witches lately.” Axel scoffed. He pulled some chalk out of his pocket and started to draw a circle with intricate patterns and layers of intersecting stars. With a snap he lit the candles without using a match or lighter.. Riku felt his mouth drop. He honestly thought Axel was pulling his leg when he told the silveret he was a witch years ago.

Axel pointed his finger at Alice. “Honey, I need you out of the house for this.”

The girl nodded her head and slowly stepped out of the house and made a beeline towards an open space between Riku and Roxas a few feet away from the porch. The witch closed his eyes and started to mumble a spell. Smoke from the candles started to swirl following the outline of the circle. After a few laps around the chalk outline the smoke started to circle the house. The air became heavy with magic to the point that Riku felt like he was inhaling it. The silveret was able to catch Roxas with his peripheral; he was licking his lips. Alice was eying the display of magic with curiosity and wonder. Riku couldn’t help but admire his friend who embraced every part of his being. Axel extended his right arm and flicked his wrist daintily, with that motion the smoke faded. The redhead cracked his neck and let out a yawn.

“Alrighty, time to test it. Humans go into the house. Roxas will be our test dummy.” He walked onto the porch and rested her arms behind his head. Riku and Alice gave each other an inquiring look before slowly making their way to the front door. The two stood on the threshold of the front door and waited for the witch’s next instructions.

“Roxas, walk towards the house with no malicious intentions.” Axel ordered. Roxas raised a brow but complied. He was able to step on the porch with no problems and had a little arrogant grin on his face. “Some spell that was.” He snorted. Axel just gave the vampire a smug grin and wiggled his finger at Roxas to go back out into the yard. Roxas sauntered back out with his arms crossed across his chest. 

“Now what, oh grand wizard?” The vampire’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. 

Axel raised his jaw and ran his fingers down his throat in a teasing manner. “Try to hurt me.” Riku couldn’t help but gawk at his friend. Roxas could rip him apart with little effort!

Roxas furrowed his brows and tilted his head in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“Come on Roxie, I know you’re hungry.” Axel goaded. “Try to get a bite.”

Riku instinctively guided Alice behind him to protect her as he watched the vampire start crouch in a predatory manner. His hand went to the door, ready to shut it so he couldn’t get glamoured. “Axel, what the fuck-!?” he was cut off with the witch holding his hand up to silence his friend’s protest. “Watch.” He gave him a reassuring wink.

“Don’t get mad at me for taking up your offer, Ax.” Roxas darted towards the house, almost like a blur. Within a blink of an eye there was a hellacious screech and a bright light. By the time Riku’s eyes were able to adjust and recover from the flash, Roxas was flat on his ass screaming profanities. His whole body was shaking. 

Riku without thinking ran towards the vampire to check to see if he was okay. Axel queued behind him.

“You okay baby fangs?” Riku was on his knees by the boy and checking his body. There weren't any obvious wounds on the vampire but he was shaking like a leaf and had bloody tears running down his cheeks. 

“WHAT WAS THAT!?” He blubbered. He could not believe a vampire was reduced to tears so quickly.

“You got your ass shocked, that’s what happened.” Axel simply stated. “First shock is meant to ward off attackers.” Axel smirked at Roxas. “Wanna try again?”

“FUCK YOU!” Roxas screamed at the readhead. He hid behind Riku and hissed at the witch.

“Aw, Rox.” Axel cooed as he held his hand out to the boy trying to coax him out like he was some scared kitten. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think it was gonna scare you _that_ badly.”

“At least we know it works.” Riku mumbled. Roxas glared at him. “Oh, it works.” the blond snarled.Riku patted his head. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”

“Assholes.” Roxas grumbled. The older men couldn’t help but snort. 

Things started to settle down later in the night. Axel made it clear that the spell only works if the person is planning a malicious act on the people within the house. Axel made sure to look at Riku with a smug grin when he reminded him that consensual biting won’t zap a vampire. Riku narrowed his eyes at his friend but did not offer a word of protest. He simply tried to ignore it. Alice ended up sleeping on his couch and in some of his sleeping wear. The poor girl was practically swimming in the tee shirt and she had to hold the pajama bottoms up as she walked around the house. Riku left Roxas a case of blood to drink at his own leasure as the humans turned in for the night. Riku had a hard time sleeping that night, not because he felt unsafe, but because Axel was snoring in his damn ear all night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Roxas is always getting hurt :(


	8. Every Breath you Take

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah sorry this took so long to update. I had a lot of things going on in my personal life. I've noticed people stopped commenting after the third chapter, is there something lacking in the story? please feel free to drop constructive criticism so I can become a better writer :D

-Moon River-

(Sora)

“They’re dead?” 

“Either by accident or suicide.” Aqua arched her brows and pursed her lips. “It’s quite obvious isn’t it?” 

“Painfully,” Sora sighed and rubbed his temple. 

“It’s a trap. Would you like me to go check it out?” She walked over to Ella who had her purse and keys ready for the trip. 

Sora clicked his tongue and shook his head. “No, I want you to stay by the bar just in case someone unexpected shows up.” He slapped his hands on his knees and rose out of his chair. The music from the bar practically made the walls in his office vibrate. The crowd was larger than usual tonight since they had a special going on with shots. He pulled his own keys out of his back pocket and placed them in Aqua's hands as well as his wallet. He was going to pay a visit to The Daybreak Church of God tonight in disguise. A couple of his daymen spies he sent there to investigate the church ended up dead fairly quickly. Unfortunately, they did spend the night there for church activities to blend in with the flock and to scrape up more information. It was obvious to them now there was something supernatural scheming and using the church as a front and form of free biowarfare 'in the name of Christ'. 

"Poor bastards probably got glamoured." If that was the truth, he wondered which vampire he would be facing. He had a good idea who it was since he saw a certain pink haired bastard sniffing around. He prayed his guess was wrong. If it was either Marluxia or his maker, wouldn't it be better to send Aqua? Then again if he sent her, they might just kill her just to piss him off. It would best if he went. He went over to a dressing closet that was to the left of his desk and chair and started pilfering through the clothes. If he was gonna do this, he had to look as non threatening and as gullible as possible. He picked out a Notre Dame State College hoodie; one that he picked up back in the nineties, so it would look like it was his dad passed down to him. He pulled out some scratched up glasses that were repaired with some scotch tape from one of the dressers as well as some Walmart jeans. He found some old white converse shoes that he had one of the barmaids to doodle crudely all over. Last, but not least, he got a small iron cross necklace to add to the look. 

He started to strip off his regular clothes before he felt eyes on him still. "Do you mind?"

"What, it's not like it's something I haven't seen before, sheriff." Aqua said. Sora could hear the amusement in her voice. He didn't bother looking at her as he shut the closet door for some privacy.

"My, you are becoming quite the prude over the years." Aqua jeered. "I remember back in the day, you would just let it all hang out; after hunting, you and I would lick the blood off of each other's-"

"Enough!" Sora barked, he didn't want her to finish her tales of his life as a younger vampire. He was full of anger, hate and spite back then. He literally did anything he could to defy and piss off Yozora like a teenager would to a parent… but no matter what he did, he still had to go home to his maker. Even if he was kicking and screaming the whole time. In the eyes of the vampire community, Yozora owned him until the day he died again. 

He filed away those feelings so he could get done what needed to get done. Sora exited out of the closet dramatically and did a spin to show off his new look. "Whaddya think?"

"You look like you still get your lunch money taken by bullies." Aqua grimaced. 

"You should add a retainer. Maybe add a small stain here and there." Ella added. Sora nodded his head in approval. 

After some tweaking to his disguise, he was ready to enter there, practically undetectable. Ella offered him a flyer she found from the church. Tonight they were doing a sleepover bible study and all humans were invited. He took Ella’s beat up Ford Fiesta which added to the guise more. 

The church was on the opposite side of the city and was obnoxiously huge. Large crowds of people were crowding the entrance. Vendors were in the parking lot selling their handcrafted, cheaply made anti-vampire accessories. He humored himself and bought a few trinkets. These people couldn’t tell who was a vampire even if they jumped up and bit ‘em. He pinned an enamel pin to his hoodie and walked towards the large entrance doors. He took note that the church was advertising free flu shots and scowled. That's probably how they were spreading the disease. He took note that many of the church goers had stickers that said ‘I got my flu shot at the Daybreak Church of God’. Sora sifted through the crowd easily. He was stopped here and there by some of the flock and he did his best to be polite and quick. The deeper he went into the bowels of the church, the less he saw people. He caught a whiff of something terribly familiar and felt his body freeze.

Why is he here?

“Darling, what in the world are you wearing?” He knew that voice from anywhere. 

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” Sora exasperated. “WHY are YOU here? You’re not supposed to be here until the end of the month!” Sora spat. 

"Maybe it's a good thing I'm here early. What in God's name are you wearing? You're hiding all your cuteness in that shabby outfit." Yozora, his maker and former husband, stated. 

Sora scowled at his maker. "Why. Are. You. Here?" 

Yozora's eyes glinted with amusement and walked towards Sora. The brunet stood his ground, refusing to yield. His maker stood within a foot away. He towered over by at least a head. The silveret gently guided Sora's face by the chin to make eye contact with him. "I'm here to protect my Sunshine." His thumb brushed over the brunet's bottom lip admirably. 

Sora jerked his face out of his maker's hand with a glare. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"

Yozora chuckled softly. "Despite the outfit, you look beautiful today." 

"Enough with the flattering." Sora deadpanned. The cogs in Sora's brain started to move again and aligned all the pieces up. He closed his eyes and his face scrunched up in aggravation. "Oh, for fucks sake- are YOU the one who started this bullshit plague in my area!?" 

Yozora didn't answer… which meant he did.

"Goddamn you, you- you _selfish_ motherfucker! I cannot believe this! Do you know how many people I lost because of you!? My area is a goddamn shitstorm right now because of you! Did you send that pink haired piece of shit here to check out the damage you caused!? Are you fucking kidding me! You are unFUCKING believable!" Sora roared. He angrily used his finger to poke his maker's chest to add emphasis on how unhappy he was with him. 

Yozora grabbed his hand and pressed his lips to the palm. Sora tried to rip his hand away, but he was never physically strong enough to pry himself free from his marker's grip. Sora trying to free himself was almost a laughing matter. "Let go of me!"

"No, I don't think I will." Yozora said nonchalantly. "I saw Kairi tonight and she's just as ornery as ever." Yozora chuckled and sighed happily. "I swear she's you made over." 

"Stay away from her." Sora growled lowly. 

"She's my daughter too." Yozora's voice hardened.

"You have no claim to her!" Sora hissed. He struggled in vain out of his maker's grip.

"In a way, that's true. However, I do have a claim on you. What I've seen from my little experiment, Sephiroth is not fit to rule the Scala Ad Caelum Kingdom. He's too hands off. I made a deal with him years ago he could have you be a part of his little cu d'etat as long as he kept you safe and secure… Do you know what I found out? You have to bribe and threaten to help, you get little support even if you do bribe! I've also heard about your living situation in some backwoods mountain town! You shouldn't have to struggle out here to be with Kairi, you should be living in the lap of luxury like you used to!"

"I'm fine! Have you forgotten I was raised out here in the mountains in a shabby cabin? This is second nature to me." Sora rolled his eyes. 

"It's not only that, but you take in this wayward baby vampire with no maker? Are you kidding me Sora? Do you know how _dangerous_ that could be? Do you do this dangerous shit to piss me off? Because it's working." Yozora barked. His eyes scanned over the brunet's body. "You look pale." His voice softened. "Please tell me you're not just trying to live off that disgusting synthetic blood solely."

Well, he wasn't _trying_ to, he was just busy. He tries to leave Alice alone so Roxas can practice… and there is a certain individual whose blood he's dying to taste, but that wasn't top priority on things he wanted from Riku. 

"I'm not trying to." Sora shrugged but then narrowed his eyes. "I'm too busy cleaning up the mess you caused!"

Yozora sighed. " To be frank darling, I'm not doing this just to prove a point. I'm here to conquer. Why do you think I let you leave in the first place? For Kairi? I would've had her transferred to a home in the empire so you could see her." 

Sora's eyes widened when he realized why he was targeting Sora's area particularly. All the strongest and oldest vampires in the kingdom called area thirteen home. 

"Why are you telling me all this?" Sora felt his stomach sinking.

"Because I'll need someone to take over Sephiroth's place after he falls." Yozora's eyes fell on Sora's face. Yozora was a mix of emotions. "Maybe you'll feel more open to be remarried if you feel like an equal in the relationship." Yozora's voice was full of longing. 

"It would never be equal. No matter what fancy title you give me, you'll still be my maker and you'll always get the final say. I don't love you anymore, at least, not the way you want me to." Sora said gently. "You need to stop this." 

Yozora's lips tightened into a hard line, his brows knitted. "You have no idea the power you have over me." He let out a shaky breath. "You are mine and yet I cannot have you? I'm trying to take over a kingdom in hopes you'll come back to me!" He laughed dryly. The older vampire ran his hand through his hair. "I know I cannot change the past Sora, if I could, I would, but I cannot!" His voice was rising. " How long must I pay for my past mistakes!? You can be very cruel when you want to be!" 

"You say you are her father but when I couldn't protect her, you weren't there to protect her! If I didn't have so much self control she would've died that night! You lied to me for _years_! You said you loved me - but every night in that bed you were _eating_ me! You ate so much of me that you killed me! And I was none the wiser because every night after you had your fill you would glamour me to forget!" Tears were falling down Soras cheeks, they were thick and heavy. "You didn't protect my baby..." Sora blubbered. Yozora released his grip on Sora. The silveret shakily reached for Sora's hands but stopped within an inch. He desperately wanted to have Sora in his arms. 

"I'm sorry Sora." The brunet kept his eyes averted, wiping away his tears. He gently took Sora's face in his hands. His thumbs gently wiped away the bloody tears from his soft cheeks. "And I'm sorry for what I'm about to do."

"As your maker, I command you to stay silent about my involvement in the fall of Scala Ad Caelum. When the opportunity comes, you will take over the throne." Yozora casted his spell, his commandment. He could not go against his maker's rule. 

"You promised you wouldn't do this to me again." Sora's voice was small and quivered from hurt. 

"Forgive me, my beloved… but there's no going back now." Yozora kissed his forehead. His lips lingered, enjoying this intimacy he had been craving. Yozora's lips went to Sora's ear and whispered. "I love you." He stood up straight and walked away. Sora was left alone with his new burden. 

“Goddamn you.” Sora bit his lip and wrapped his arms around himself. He had to do what he could to make sure the kingdom didn’t fall. 

-Moon River- 

“What did you do? There’s mass hysteria going on at the church.” Aqua ran up to the beaten up car as he parked in the bar’s back parking lot. 

“The disease was being spread through flu vaccines. I just persuaded a few flock members that the government was using the vaccines to put trackers in their bodies.” 

Aqua pursed her lips and fell silent for a moment. “Wouldn’t their phones already be tracking them?” 

Sora shrugged. “Whatever works.” 

“So, who’s behind it all?” Aqua asked.

Sora fell silent. 

“Can’t say, huh?”Aqua quickly figured out who. “What do you need me to do?” 

“We have to do what it takes to contain this disease and keep our strongest out of harms way. We need to keep our defenses up since our kingdom is under attack. If shit hits the fan, go with whoever can keep you safe. Same with Roxas.” Sora ordered making sure to keep eye contact with his second in command. She nodded her head. “Okay.”

“I’m going to get changed and head home. I’m tired.” Sora patted her shoulder as he walked past her. “Take care of the bar tonight, I’ll be here tomorrow to fulfill my monthly duty.”

“You usually whine about having to parade around for the humans.” Aqua raised her brow. “Sorry you had a rough day, sheriff.” 

Sora mumbled an ‘uh-huh’ before walking inside.

He drove home in silence, not even bothering to turn on the radio. When he reached the cabin he noticed something odd. The generator was broken and not because something was faulty. 

Sora shook his head and put his hands on his hips and tsked with slight aggravation. “Roxas, you little shit.” 

Well, he knew where they were now. He went off to bug Riku. Sora wondered if Riku was still awake? He made his way to the human’s home. Wouldn’t hurt to check it out.


	9. Carry On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! thanks for reading this far!

-Moon River- 

(Sora)

It was about three in the morning when he made it onto Riku's property. There sat Roxas on the porch playing on his phone. When he caught Sora's scent in the wind his head shot up in a blur. Roxas decided to meet him halfway. 

"Hey." He greeted with a smile. Usually the best he got was a grunt or a growl.

"Hey, yourself." Sora raised his brow. He motioned his head back to the cabin. "I noticed the generator is broken."

"Yeah." Roxas said slowly, testing the waters. "Damn thing broke out of nowhere." He shrugged his shoulders.

Sora looked at him unimpressed. "Why did you break it?" 

Roxas' mouth gaped open and closed like a fish trying to find the best answer. "I didn't. Maybe Alice broke it?" Sora felt his lips start to curl up in a grin. He was such a bad liar, so bad it brought back a memory from back when he was alive. It reminded him of a sunny day back in an old coal mining town he used to call home, back when his mother caught him in a lie. She would get a knowing grin just like he had on his face. He made this face before too, with his own daughter at the other end trying to get herself out of trouble with a blatant and poorly planned lie. 

"Roxas, come on. That girl was too scared to leave the cabin. She's all city." Sora snorted. "Out with it."

Roxas' face turned a bit red and he averted his gaze. "I was lonely, okay? The only person who actually talks to me besides you is Riku. I scare Alice so she only talks to me after I feed from her… and your case is keeping you busy..." The young vampire trailed off. 

Sora's eyes softened. He remembered when he was a newborn he was locked up and confined most of his first year. He was painfully lonely. The only solace of company he was able to get was talking to his daughter through a thick and silver laced door and the only physical touches he received was from his maker. He shamefully yearned for his touch, any touch, even if it was from the man who lied and murdered him. In that year, humans were thrown into his cell to sedate his hunger. He became the face of death for many. He remembered how he felt sickenly euphoric as their screams were muffled and eventually ceased as he feasted on them till there was no blood left in their bodies.

"I see." Sora raised his hand, Roxas flinched but relaxed when he felt his hair being ruffled. "Well, as long as Riku doesn't mind, you should hang out down here with him more." He never wanted Roxas to feel like a caged beast like he did. Though he used to have to layer silver on him, he couldn’t stop him from murdering locals any other way.

Roxas smiled warmly. It was a smile Roxas rarely shelled out. Sora was glad he was the one able to bring it out. 

"So, how's the case going?" Roxas chirped. 

Sora's face darkened for a moment but put on a brave face and gave Roxas a half hearted smile. "It's going well, I was able to find out how the disease was distributed and stopped it. I'm gonna send someone in tomorrow to track down infected humans that way they can be blacklisted. I don't want anyone sucking down any human part of that church. We'll have to be careful with humans who've had blood transfusions for a while as well. According to the scientists, this strain of the Decay only stays in the bloodstream for a month or so." 

Roxas grinned. "Good! I've been dying to try out some new blood! Alice is great and all, but some variety would be nice." 

Sora hummed in acknowledgement. "How's Riku?"

They started to stroll towards the woods as they were enjoying the cool summer night breeze. He couldn't wait until the day they would be able to hunt freely again.

"Sleeping, but Axel came over tonight."

"The cook, right?" 

Roxas nodded his head. "Yeah, he may not look it, but he's one powerful witch."

"Is that so?" Sora chuckled. He knew the moment he met the redhead he was a witch. No spell could fully hide his supernatural talents. Roxas' nose would get sharper with time. 

"Yeah, he put a protection spell around Riku's house, so that's one less thing to worry about… hurt like hell though." Roxas grumbled the last part. 

"That's good to hear." 

Roxas had a sly smile grow on his face. "Ya know, Riku seemed to be hoping you were with me earlier tonight." 

Sora felt a grin grow on his face. He liked being on Riku's mind. 

"I think we're growing on him." Roxas mused.

Roxas was growing on him too. Kairi said that Roxas would need him and Sora thought he would take care of him out of obligation as the sheriff of this area. But as it turned out, Sora needed Roxas just as much. Roxas gave him the second chance to be the father he wanted to be but couldn’t be for Kairi.

  
-Moon River- 

(Riku)

Riku woke up from two things. He was so hot he was sweating and he had weight on him. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and what he saw before him was not only Kida laying on top of him but he had Axel’s arm laying over his chest and his face drooling all over his shoulder. 

“Ew.” He cringed and pushed the older man off of him to drool elsewhere. Kida woke up from Riku’s movement and her tail started to wag. He rubbed her ears and she leaned into his touch. Kida gave his forearm a good morning kiss. Riku squirmed out underneath his dog and comforter to go do his morning rituals. 

After peeing he went to start up his coffee machine. He about jumped out of his skin when he saw the girl sleeping on his couch forgetting she was here. He let out a startled ‘shit!’ before he calmed himself. The girl didn’t stir from her slumber thankfully; he didn’t really want to speak to anyone this early in the morning. Kida came out of his room and gave the blonde girl’s face a sniff before making her way to the kitchen backdoor. Again, that girl didn’t stir. 

“Jesus, that girl sleeps like she’s dead.” He could jest this because he could see her chest slowly rise and fall. 

He let out Kida and started to make his coffee. Riku left the kitchen to check his front porch, he was unsure if Roxas actually drank the blood he left out there for him. To his surprise, all the bottles were empty and neatly placed back in the cardboard case. Snuggly placed underneath the garbage was a note. Roxas would usually just text him something. When he went to read the note he recognized the handwriting immediately. The only person he knew who wrote in cursive and drank blood; Sora. 

**Riku,**

**Thank you for watching over Roxas and Alice, I’ll get a replacement generator shortly! I heard your friend got you a fancy new security system, I’ve checked it out myself and he did a good job. I’ll be working in the bar all night tomorrow. If you want, you should come see me, I’ll look like a totally different person though. Let me know if you can!**

**-Sora**

**P.S.**

**The blood was delicious.**

Riku felt his cheeks flush after reading the note. He re read the note again. Did...did Sora ask him out on a date in a way? No, no, no….no? What did he mean he would look like a different person? He pulled out his phone and googled the bar’s name Oblivion. The website looked professionally done, the theme had an underground punk feel to it. It showed specials and highlighted something interesting.

‘ _Come to Oblivion, your local vampire bar! Come face to face with local vampires! New vampires to meet each week!_ ’ and below that there was another thing highlighted. ‘ _Tonight only! Get the chance to get a kiss from our most elusive local vampire, Vanitas! You can buy raffle tickets here and at the bar._ ’

He noticed there was a comment section underneath the highlighted advertisements. A Lot of the commenters were excited to hear that Vanitas would be at the bar tonight. Apparently, many of the vampires would wear scandalous and revealing clothing. He couldn’t imagine Sora wearing anything that wasn’t casual and comfortable looking. He looked so cute and huggable in his baggy hoodies. Needless to say, it piqued his interest. He had to see what the hype was about. And having Sora there he knew he wouldn’t have to really worry much about anything. He only had to work at the Home today so he would be able to go with plenty of energy. 

Riku folded up the note and put it in one of his sweatpants pockets. He picked up the empty case to throw away. Kida was done with being outside and was loyally by his side, ready for her breakfast. He quickly fed her and made himself a cup of joe. He inhaled the smell of fresh coffee and felt his whole body shiver from anticipation. If it was possible, he would be purring. He took one peaceful sip before his tranquility was disturbed by the sound of the toilet flushing. Axel shortly walked out of the bathroom and made a beeline to the coffee. His fiery red locks stuck out all over the place. Without his usual geling, his hair was thick and wavy. He just couldn’t let go of the punk rock life and the punk rock style of spikes. 

“Morning.” Riku yawned.

“Hey babe, got any milk?” Axel asked groggily. 

“No, got some creamer though. Check the fridge door.” Riku started to inhale his coffee, not caring how hot it was. He needed the caffeine. 

“That girl sleeps like a fucking rock.” Axel commented. His voice was slightly muffled since his face was buried in the fridge. He pulled out the creamer, but then he pulled out the eggs, cheese, ham and butter. “I’m making omelettes, ask sleeping beauty if she wants one.” 

Riku finished up his coffee and made his way to the couch to wake the girl. He gently shook her shoulder. “Alice? Do you want something to eat?” Riku asked softly.

Alice stirred and nodded her head sleeplily with a cute yawn. “Yes please.” 

Axel was already working on the omelettes by the time Riku stepped foot back in the kitchen.

  
Riku and Axel couldn’t help but gape at the vivacious hunger this small girl had. She was on her third omelette.

“Girl, do you not eat or something?” Axel asked.

In between bites Alice tried to speak. “I don’t really know how to cook, _this is soooooo gooodddd_. This is the first _meal_ , meal I’ve had in a month. Vampires don’t eat, so they didn’t bother getting a stove. I’m so tired of hot pockets and pizza rolls!” 

The two men looked at each other for a moment before Axel got up and started on making another omelette for Alice.

After breakfast, Axel called Xion to come pick him up. He had to run a few errands that day and he wanted to get back to his own car. Out of habit, he took Kida along for the ride since Riku had work soon. That left Riku and Alice alone. Riku took note that she didn't bring any of her stuff with her from the cabin and offered her a ride on his ATV* up there to collect her things. 

"You don't have to trouble yourself, I'll be fine!" She rejected Riku politely. 

"You don't have any electric or running water right now. I would feel alot better if you stayed here." Riku reasoned. 

Alice fiddled with her fingers bashfully. "Are you sure?" She asked. "I won't cause you any trouble?"

"I would be too worried about ya if I left you there all by yourself like that." Riku said honestly. 

The ride up there was bumpy and it was painfully obvious this girl never went and did any form of off road activities. She was clinging onto him for dear life, but he could hear in her childish squeals as they bumped around on the wild terrain she was enjoying herself. The way up to the old not so abandoned cabin was pleasant to look at. The morning air was crisp and the birds sang in the trees. The sun filtered through the green tree canopy and the smell of earth and moss filled him with vigor. 

He hadn't seen the cabin since the bar owner showed it to him about six years ago, after the incident, after he left college and was too fucked up to go back. He remembered it was quaint, isolated, and peaceful. Riku would find himself daydreaming about living there when he first started working at the bar. All he wanted was to be away from people at that time. He felt himself grinning at an old memory. It reminded him of how Axel decided that they were gonna be friends whether Riku liked it or not. He was grateful for his friend's determination. 

He stopped the ATV when they finally made it into a small clearing, where the old cabin resided. It was smaller and more delaopotated than he remembered, however there were little things around the cabin that showed something had made it into a home. There was a broken generator. The windows were cleaned and patched up and the roof was being worked on. His eyes caught something shiny off a little ways off from the cabin. He crept up to the shiny thing hidden by a couple of large burning bushes along with some other unkempt shrubbery and noticed it was a handle. He realized it was a cellar, his hand went up to pull it open before he heard a squawk.

"Don't open that! They're down there!" Alice rushed over with his arms flailing around. It took Riku more than to register who 'they' were. Down there right now Sora and Roxas were sleeping.

Riku had heard that vampires were at their most vulnerable when it was the daytime. They would sleep like the dead, which made sense since they were a part of the undead. He bet even if he slammed the cellar hatch open and screamed at the top of his lungs they wouldn't stir. Even as the sunlight would touch their bodies and start to burn them, they wouldn't wake. A feeling inside Riku stirred, an innate need to protect the two helpless creatures. It seemed almost comedic that something as powerful as those two could be so defenseless that a mere mortal like him could just walk down there and end their existence without any retaliation. A bubble of fear grew in his stomach, anyone could come down here and end them if they knew where they slept. 

"Does anyone else know about this place?" Riku asked.

"No human, Aqua knows, but she doesn't bother to come out to the countryside often." Alice answered casually.

"Aqua?" Riku raised a brow.

"Sora's lieutenant, second in command of his area. She's a great deal older than him, but Sora is way stronger; he's like a walking force of nature." Alice said breathily and her eyes glistened as she spoke about the vampires. Did she admire them or did she worship them?

"Gotcha." Riku apprehensively. 

Alice seemed to be in her own little world as she wondered back into the cabin to collect her things. She hummed a little tune as she did her little chore. When she came back out, she had a large duffel bag with her looking stuffed to the brim with clothing. Riku offered her a hand, which she nervously obliged. He brushed it off with the simple explanation ‘that's my whole life in my bag, be careful’.

As they went down the mountain side again he learned a bit more about her. She was a highschool dropout who liked to get high a little too much and had a bad homelife. She ran off and couch surfed for a while, and 'partied' every night. Soon she became addicted to vampire blood. She said it had great healing properties, but if you weren't injured, the high you got from just a drop was otherworldly. She rode the high and enjoyed it so much, she started to do just about anything for it. In fact, the reason she found herself in the vampire bar was to see if could get a vampire to give her some blood for her own. Riku felt pity for the girl. Her sad story got a little better when he found out she was clean, but she was still food. 

"Have you ever been bitten before?" She asked him. 

"Not by a vampire." Riku answered truthfully. He had been bit and has bitten other humans before, but that was more love bites from sexual endeavors.

"You should try it. It's such a rush! Your first time shouldn't be with a newborn though, they're so rough and they don't know what the hell they are doing! Roxas is so damn rough I feel like I'm getting mauled! Now, if you get an older vampire about master Sora's age and older… wow." She purred. "I heard it's even better when you're having sex." She seemed to add the last part a bit more bashfully. She furrowed her brows in thought for a moment. " I bet master Sora would be really gentle." She murmured to herself as her face started to flush. Riku wished he didn't hear her say that. Sora was just his friend but he felt this possessiveness gnawing inside him. He was getting jealous at the idea of Sora being intimate with someone like that. He felt ashamed of himself for acting like a boy with a school yard crush 'you can't like Sora, I'm the only person allowed to like him'. 

He let Alice talk his ear off for the rest of the ride back to his house so he didn't have to mull over his feelings. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we get to experience the vampire bar through the eyes of a human ;D I'm so excited about this little raffle for a vampire kiss!
> 
> ATV: All Terrain Vehicle


End file.
